THE EFFICIENCY OF HOSPITAL PRODUCTION OF THE SINGLE HEALTH SYSTEM IN MUNICIPALITIES IN THE SOUTH REGION OF BRAZIL

Abstract

The article aims to evaluate the efficiency in hospital production of the Unified Health System - SUS in municipalities in the southern region of Brazil in 2015. To this end, the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) methodology was applied in two stages, as well as the Jackstrap method for identifying outliers. In the first stage, the number of doctors, beds and equipment in each municipality available to the SUS were used as inputs. As a product, the total number of hospitalizations and the inverse of the mortality rate in the areas analyzed were used. In the second stage, the population, per capita health expenditure, the Firjan Employment and Income and Education indexes and the aging rate were considered. The results showed a low level of technical efficiency, especially among smaller cities, which are the majority in the analysis. The prevalence of congestion effects was also observed among the largest municipalities. In the second stage, consistent estimates of socioeconomic factors pointed to an inverse relationship between the level of efficiency and health expenditure and the aging of the population. Therefore, there is a need to seek appropriate hospital production practices on the part of local governments in the region.