Figure 1. Typology of efficiency measures (Text Description)

Health Care Efficiency Measures: Identification, Categorization, and Evaluation

This figure displays the typology or analytical framework of efficiency. It shows a flowchart with three different levels:

• Perspective.
• Outputs.
• Inputs.

Perspective

This part of the figure is entitled Society. It has three different entities:

Providers (in a rectangular box):
Hospitals.
Physicians.
Nursing homes.
Urgent Care Clinics.

Intermediaries (in an oval):
Health Plans.
Employers.

The third and final entity is Individuals, which was placed in a diamond text box.

Outputs

This level shows two different text boxes—one is entitled Health services, and the other one Health outcomes. Both boxes show examples of these outputs:

Health services

Examples:

• Hospital discharges.
• Office visits.
• Episodes of care.
• Covered lives (patients served).

Health outcomes

Examples:

• Post-admission mortality rates.
• Life expectancy.
• Infant mortality rates.

Inputs

This level shows two different text boxes—the first one is Physical, and the second one Financial. Both boxes show examples of these inputs:

Physical

Examples:

• Nursing labor used to produce a surgical procedure.
• Office visits used to produce an episode of care.

Financial

Examples:

• Nursing wages.
• Physician wages.
• Medication costs.
• Charges.

Return to Figure 1