Research on the coupling and coordination of scale, efficiency and quality of public hospitals in Anhui

Objective To evaluate the scale, efficiency and quality of secondary and tertiary public hospitals in Anhui province, and analyze the degree of coupling and coordination among the three dimensions. Methods Thirty-two hospitals′ data were extracted from the direct reporting system of Anhui Health Commission. Hospital efficiency was evaluated by DEA model, hospital quality was evaluated by TOPSIS model, and coupling coordination degree was analyzed by coupling function. Results In the single-dimension evaluation, there were significant differences in the distribution of the three dimensions among different levels of hospitals, and the efficiency and quality of secondary hospitals were better than those of tertiary hospitals. In the coupling evaluation, the average degree of coupling coordination in Anhui was 0.637, which was in the " primary coordination" level. The overall coupling and coordination degree of the tertiary hospitals were better than that of the secondary hospitals, and the highest score was in central Anhui. Conclusions Single-dimensional evaluation method cannot objectively represent a general picture of the hospitals. On the other hand, coupling coordination degree evaluation can provide a more comprehensive and objective result. The development strategy of hospitals should be made to fit local conditions and to coordinate the development of scale, efficiency and quality. Key words: Hospital, public; DEA; TOPSIS; Coupling and coordinative degree; Scale