Efficiency of Psychiatric Hospital under Ministry of Public Health

Abstract

The objective of this study was to measure the hospital efficiency of psychiatric hospitals under the Department of Mental Health in Thailand in terms of technical and scale efficiency scores and to identify the factors determining the efficiency of hospitals. The data were from sixteen psychiatric hospitals under the Department of Mental Health since 2007 to 2010. The input variables were number of all staff (STAFF) and number of beds (BED) and the output variables were number of out-patient visits (OPD), number of in-patient bed days (IPD), and number of psychiatric nurse trainee (TRAIN). The results of DEA showed that TEVRS or pure technical efficiency score was 84%average (minimum 42%) and scale efficiency score was 85% (minimum 46%). Decreasing returns to scale is the majority cause of scale inefficiency. The regression analysis results showed OPD/STAFF, IPD/BED, average length of stay and psychiatric nurse trainee activity had significant positive relationship with TEVRS. The results suggested for downscaling and re-allocation of inputs. Promotion and support the development of proactive outpatient services were recommended. Last, we should focus more on capacity building of nurse training program in more hospital.