Analysis on DEA-Malmquist efficiency index of medical facilities in Zhejiang province

Abstract

Objective To measure the changes of total factor productivity (TFP)of Zhejiang medical facilities for decision makers to promote their service efficiency.Methods Collecting the panel data of 2005-2010(four input indexes and five output indexes)from medical facilities in Zhejiang province and measuring with Malmquist index of DEA programs of DEAP2.1.Results The average annual TFP growth rate in the period is 2.0％.A further decomposition found that the average annual growth rate of technology progress is 1.8 ％,while that of technical efficiency and pure technical efficiency is only 0.2％respectively.In the meantime,no scale efficiency growth was found.Conclusion The average annual growth of total factor productivity of Zhejiang medical institutions is substantially low in the period,with technology recession found as well.To maximize productivity of the medical sector,the allocation and internal management should be strengthened to stimulate technical efficiency and scale efficiency while encouraging technology innovation. Key words: Total factor productivity; Malmquist index; Data envelopment analysis; Medical facility