Evaluation of the factors that affect the efficiency of diagnostic imaging technologies in Turkey: A two-stage data envelopment analysis

Abstract

Objective: The healthcare sector is observed to be both labor and technology concentrated. Particularly based on the technological developments, there is a major increase in health expenditures. Technological devices, which make pressure on health expenditures, affect the whole world while making technology management become a global concern and a long-term problem. This study aims to compare the efficiency of medical device use among 81 provinces in Turkey. The main objective of this study is to determine a national framework by reflecting the efficient and inefficient provinces in terms of medical device use and to make various recommendations accordingly. 
 Materials and Methods: The study is comprised of a two-stage analysis. Firstly, the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) and then the Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) were utilized respectively. The efficient and inefficient provinces regarding medical device use were identified through DEA while the factors affecting the efficiency of provinces through OLS. 
 Results: 22 provinces were found as efficient and 59 as inefficient among 81 provinces in total. According to the regression model, there is not any statistically significant effect of the variables such as metropolitan, rate of university graduates, gross domestic product per capita on the efficiency score (p>0.05); the number of physicians and old-age dependency rate has a statistically significant effect on the efficiency score (p≤0.05). 
 Conclusion: This study is considered to provide guiding information to health policy makers and planners through its results.