Using Cross-Efficiency Fuzzy Data Envelopment Analysis for Healthcare Facilities Performance Evaluation under Uncertainty

We address the problem of healthcare systems performance evaluation under uncertainty by a cross-efficiency fuzzy Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) technique. Triangular fuzzy numbers are employed to deal with uncertain data. More precisely, a fuzzy triangular efficiency is associated to each hospital/ward through a cross-evaluation by a compromise between objectives. Results are defuzzified to obtain the ranking. The method is applied to evaluate hospitals in a region of Southern Italy and estimate the temporal evolution of the performance of one of them, showing the ease of application and usefulness in validating and planning healthcare reforms.

[1]  Abraham Charnes,et al.  Measuring the efficiency of decision making units , 1978 .

[2]  R. Fetter,et al.  Case mix definition by diagnosis-related groups. , 1980, Medical care.

[3]  Tien-Fu Liang,et al.  Application of fuzzy sets to manufacturing/distribution planning decisions in supply chains , 2011, Inf. Sci..

[4]  Hans-Jürgen Zimmermann,et al.  Fuzzy Set Theory - and Its Applications , 1985 .

[5]  Mariagrazia Dotoli,et al.  A novel fuzzy Data Envelopment Analysis methodology for performance evaluation in a two-stage supply chain , 2012, 2012 IEEE International Conference on Automation Science and Engineering (CASE).

[6]  D R Wholey,et al.  Comparing the agreement among alternative models in evaluating HMO efficiency. , 2000, Health services research.

[7]  Walter Ukovich,et al.  A three level strategy for the design and performance evaluation of Hospital Departments: A case study , 2012, 2012 IEEE International Conference on Automation Science and Engineering (CASE).

[8]  Mariagrazia Dotoli,et al.  A cross efficiency fuzzy Data Envelopment Analysis technique for supplier evaluation under uncertainty , 2012, Proceedings of 2012 IEEE 17th International Conference on Emerging Technologies & Factory Automation (ETFA 2012).

[9]  H. Sherman.  Hospital Efficiency Measurement and Evaluation: Empirical Test of a New Technique , 1984, Medical care.

[10]  T. Sexton,et al.  Data Envelopment Analysis: Critique and Extensions , 1986 .

[11]  Walter Ukovich,et al.  Optimal design of distribution networks:an application to the hospital drug distribution system , 2010 .

[12]  Walter Ukovich,et al.  A model for the optimal design of the Hospital Drug Distribution Chain , 2010, 2010 IEEE Workshop on Health Care Management (WHCM).

[13]  Ning Jackie Zhang,et al.  Explaining the efficiency of local health departments in the U.S.: an exploratory analysis , 2010, Health care management science.

[14]  Walter Ukovich,et al.  A Three-Level Strategy for the Design and Performance Evaluation of Hospital Departments , 2013, IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics: Systems.

[15]  Carlos Pestana Barros,et al.  Measurement of hospital efficiency, using a latent class stochastic frontier model , 2013 .

[16]  B. Hollingsworth,et al.  Efficiency measurement of health care: a review of non‐parametric methods and applications , 1999, Health care management science.

[17]  Chih-Hai Yang,et al.  Analysis of hospital technical efficiency in China: Effect of health insurance reform , 2012 .

[18]  Amelia Bilbao-Terol,et al.  Pareto-optimal solutions in fuzzy multi-objective linear programming , 2009, Fuzzy Sets Syst..