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International hospital productivity comparison: Experiences from the Nordic countries

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  • Medin, Emma
  • Häkkinen, Unto
  • Linna, Miika
  • Anthun, Kjartan S.
  • Kittelsen, Sverre A.C.
  • Rehnberg, Clas

Abstract

This article focuses on describing the methodological challenges intrinsic in international comparative studies of hospital productivity and how these challenges have been addressed within the context of hospital comparisons in the Nordic countries. The hospital sectors in the Nordic countries are suitable for international comparison as they exhibit similar structures in the organisation for hospital care, hold administrative data of good quality at the hospital level, apply a similar secondary patient classification system, and use similar definitions of operating costs. The results of a number of studies have suggested marked differences in hospital cost efficiency and hospital productivity across the Nordic countries and the Finnish hospitals have the highest estimates in all the analyses. Explanatory factors that were tested and seemed to be of limited importance included institutional, structural and technical. A factor that is yet to be included in the Nordic hospital productivity comparison is the quality of care. Patient-level data available from linkable national registers in each country enable the development of quality indicators and will be included in the forthcoming hospital productivity studies within the context of the EuroHOPE (European health care outcomes, performance and efficiency) project.

Suggested Citation

  • Medin, Emma & Häkkinen, Unto & Linna, Miika & Anthun, Kjartan S. & Kittelsen, Sverre A.C. & Rehnberg, Clas, 2013. "International hospital productivity comparison: Experiences from the Nordic countries," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 112(1), pages 80-87.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:hepoli:v:112:y:2013:i:1:p:80-87
    DOI: 10.1016/j.healthpol.2013.02.004
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    2. Mahdavi Akramsadat & Ardabili Farzad Sattari & Kheirandish Mohammad & Ebrahimpour Habib & Daryani Shahram Mirzaei, 2020. "Presenting a Model of Managerial practical wisdom in Hospitals," Management, Sciendo, vol. 24(2), pages 20-48, December.
    3. Anthun, Kjartan Sarheim & Kittelsen, Sverre Andreas Campbell & Magnussen, Jon, 2017. "Productivity growth, case mix and optimal size of hospitals. A 16-year study of the Norwegian hospital sector," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 121(4), pages 418-425.
    4. Alice Tran & Kim-Huong Nguyen & Len Gray & Tracy Comans, 2019. "A Systematic Literature Review of Efficiency Measurement in Nursing Homes," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(12), pages 1-18, June.
    5. Kalseth, Jorid & Halvorsen, Thomas & Kalseth, Birgitte & Sarheim Anthun, Kjartan & Peltola, Mikko & Kautiainen, Kirsi & Häkkinen, Unto & Medin, Emma & Lundgren, Jonatan & Rehnberg, Clas & Másdóttir, B, 2014. "Cross-country comparisons of health-care costs: The case of cancer treatment in the Nordic countries," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 115(2), pages 172-179.
    6. Yauheniya Varabyova & Carl Rudolf Blankart & Aleksandra Torbica & Jonas Schreyögg, 2017. "Comparing the Efficiency of Hospitals in Italy and Germany: Nonparametric Conditional Approach Based on Partial Frontier," Health Care Management Science, Springer, vol. 20(3), pages 379-394, September.
    7. Unto Häkkinen & Tor Iversen & Mikko Peltola & Clas Rehnberg & Timo T. Seppälä & on behalf of the EuroHOPE study group, 2015. "Towards Explaining International Differences in Health Care Performance: Results of the EuroHOPE Project," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 24(S2), pages 1-4, December.
    8. Sverre A. C. Kittelsen & Kjartan S. Anthun & Fanny Goude & Ingrid M. S. Huitfeldt & Unto Häkkinen & Marie Kruse & Emma Medin & Clas Rehnberg & Hanna Rättö & on behalf of the EuroHOPE study group, 2015. "Costs and Quality at the Hospital Level in the Nordic Countries," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 24(S2), pages 140-163, December.
    9. Stadhouders, Niek & Kruse, Florien & Tanke, Marit & Koolman, Xander & Jeurissen, Patrick, 2019. "Effective healthcare cost-containment policies: A systematic review," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 123(1), pages 71-79.
    10. Androutsou, Lorena & Metaxas, Theodore, 2018. "Measuring the effeciency of medical tourism industry in EU members states," MPRA Paper 92461, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    11. Unto Häkkinen & Gunnar Rosenqvist & Tor Iversen & Clas Rehnberg & Timo T. Seppälä & on behalf of the EuroHOPE study group, 2015. "Outcome, Use of Resources and Their Relationship in the Treatment of AMI, Stroke and Hip Fracture at European Hospitals," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 24(S2), pages 116-139, December.

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