Comparison of the Technical Efficiency of Tax-Supported and Nonprofit Florida Hospitals Using Data Envelopment Analysis.

摘要

n Florida, state budgetary constraints have resulted in political pressure to justify the taxing authority granted to tax-supported hospitals. Yet little research has examined the differences between the various sectors of the hospital industry. To address this concern, this study identified the relative differences in technical efficiency between tax-supported and nonprofit hospitals. The research questions focused on identifying the relative technical efficiencies of these 2 sectors of the hospital industry and quantifying the potential savings to be achieved if all the study hospitals operated at the efficiency frontier. Using a form of linear regression, data envelopment analysis allowed a multiple-input, multiple-output matrix that determined efficiency based on achieved performance rather than on theoretical targets. Data were collected from public sources. All the data were available from the Florida Department of Health Services. The sample included all nonprofit and tax-supported hospitals in matching health planning districts. Thirty hospitals met the inclusion criteria. Adjusting for hospital size, location, and matched comparisons, there was no significant technical efficiency difference between the two categories of study hospitals. Additionally, a potential of