The Application of Data Envelopment Analysis for Operational Budgeting in Hospitals: Case Study of the Selected Hospitals of 2008

In order to examine the efficiency and usefulness of operational budgeting systems, the expenses will be compared with the final results. The present study aims at examining the efficiency of the chosen hospitals in 2008 using the data envelopment analysis and its application for operational budgeting in hospitals. The present study is an analytic-descriptive survey research. Input-oriented model of Data Envelopment Analysis was used to assess the performance of hospitals. Moreover, Anderson-Peterson (AP) model was used for ranking efficient hospitals. Excel DEA Solver (version 2.72.0.2) and DEA-Master (version 2) was utilized to solve the model. The results of the study indicate that 45% of hospitals have been inefficient. Besides, given the average percentage of excess inputs, on average, inefficient hospitals have 51.16% and 46.14% additional beds and staff respectively. Based on the findings of the present study, the selected hospitals have not operated efficiently. However, it should be noted that the hospitals under study have the potential to be more efficient with the same amount of inputs, and without any increase in the expenses.