Inefficiencies in Health Care Provision
Social Institutions
Health Care Institutions
First published: 15 May 2015
Abstract
This essay seeks to elucidate salient issues on the topic of inefficiency in the provision of health care. We begin with a discussion on the definition of efficiency, and the particular forms it can take in health care. From there, we define a useful framework for thinking about ways in which efficiency in the health care system can be improved. We describe cutting edge research being conducted in the field, and the major challenges to furthering the research agenda in this area, not the least of which is the unique nature of health care itself. We conclude with a discussion about key issues for future research, including the importance of incorporating multidisciplinary perspectives into this research.
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Further Reading
- Aaron, H. J. (2013). Evaluating health care costs. Nature Medicine, 19(4), 393–393.
- Anderson, G. F., Reinhardt, U. E., Hussey, P. S., & Petrosyan, V. (2003). It's the prices, stupid: Why the United States is so different from other countries. Health Affairs, 22(3), 89–105.
- Baumol, W. J. (2012). The cost disease: Why computers get cheaper and health care doesn't. New Haven, CA: Yale University Press.
- Bradley, E. H., & Taylor, L. A. (2013). The American health care paradox: Why spending more is getting us less. New York, NY: Public Affairs.
-
Burgess, J. F. (2012). Innovation and efficiency in health care: Does anyone really know what they mean?
Health Systems, 1(1), 7–12.
10.1057/hs.2012.6 Google Scholar
- Burgess, J. F. J., & Hockenberry, J. M. (2014). Can all cause readmission policy improve quality or lower expenditures? A historical perspective on current initiatives. Health Economics, Policy, and Law, 9(02), 193–213.
- Cutler, D. (2014). The quality cure: How focusing on health care quality can save your life and lower spending too. Oakland, CA: University of California Press.
-
Gelman, A., & Imbens, G. (2013). Why ask why? Forward causal inference and reverse causal questions. Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research.
10.3386/w19614 Google Scholar
- Gutacker, N., Bojke, C., Daidone, S., Devlin, N. J., Parkin, D., & Street, A. (2013). Truly inefficient or providing better quality of care? Analysing the relationship between risk-adjusted hospital costs and patients' health outcomes. Health Economics, 22(8), 931–947.
- Huesch, M. D. (2014). Slippery slopes and landing on your feet. JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association, 311(12), 1203–1204.
- Marmot, M., Friel, S., Bell, R., Houweling, T. A., & Taylor, S. (2008). Closing the gap in a generation: Health equity through action on the social determinants of health. The Lancet, 372(9650), 1661–1669.
- Murdoch, T. B., & Detsky, A. S. (2013). The inevitable application of big data to health care. JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association, 309(13), 1351–1352.
- Mutter, R., Greene, W., Spector, W., Rosko, M., & Mukamel, D. (2013). Investigating the impact of endogeneity on inefficiency estimates in the application of stochastic frontier analysis to nursing homes. Journal of Productivity Analysis, 39(2), 101–110.
- Newhouse, J. P., & Garber, A. M. (2013). Geographic variation in health care spending in the United States: Insights from an institute of medicine report. JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association, 310(12), 1227–1228.
- Newhouse, J. P. (1992). Medical care costs: How much welfare loss? The Journal of Economic Perspectives, 3–21.
- Ohsfeldt, R. L., & Schneider, J. E. (2006). The business of health: The role of competition, markets, and regulation. Washington, DC: AEI Press.
- Palmer, S., & Torgerson, D. J. (1999). Economic notes: Definitions of efficiency. BMJ (Clinical research ed.), 318(7191), 1136.
-
Pearl, J. (2009). Causality: Models, reasoning and inference ( 2nd ed.). Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.
10.1017/CBO9780511803161 Google Scholar
- Smith, M., Saunders, R., Stuckhardt, L., & McGinnis, J. M. (2013). Best care at lower cost: The path to continuously learning health care in America. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
- Wildman, J. & McMeekin, P. (2014). Health care and social care: Complements, substitutes and attributes. MPRA Paper. MPRA Paper No. 544252014. Available at MPRA: http://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/54425/1/MPRA_paper_54425.pdf
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