@article{078cc551e21e47bc9275114624c26363,
title = "Using DEA to estimate potential savings at GP units at medical specialty level",
abstract = "The aim of this paper is to identify benchmark cost-efficient General Practitioner (GP) units at delivering health care in the Geriatric and General Medicine (GMG) specialty and estimate potential cost savings. The use of a single medical specialty makes it possible to reflect more accurately the medical condition of the List population of the Practice so as to contextualize its expenditure on care for patients. We use Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) to estimate the potential for cost savings at GP units and to decompose these savings into those attributable to the reduction of resource use, to altering the mix of resources used and to those attributable to securing better resource 'prices'. The results reveal a considerable potential for savings of varying composition across GP units.",
keywords = "Allocative efficiency, Cost efficiency, DEA, Price efficiency, Primary health care",
author = "Emmanuel Thanassoulis and Portela, {Maria C. A. Silva} and Mike Graveney",
note = "Funding Information: The second author acknowledges the financial support of the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) through project PTDC/EGE-GES/112232/2009. Funding Information: Maria Portela is Associate Professor at the Catholic University, Porto, Portugal. She has got a MSc degree in Management Science and Operational Research from Warwick University in the U.K and a PhD degree in Management Science from Aston University, UK. She has co-authored over 20 refereed academic publications in the efficiency and productivity analysis area, including applications of Data Envelopment Analysis. She has co-authored, a chapter in Cooper W. W. et al. (2004) Handbook on Data Envelopment Analysis and the chapter {\textquoteleft}DEA—The Mathematical Programming Approach to Efficiency Analysis{\textquoteright}, in The Measurement of Productive Efficiency and Productivity Growth (H. Fried et al. (eds), 2008 Oxford University Press). She has applied the DEA technique in various fields including schools, bank branches, water companies, retail outlets, and primary health care General Practice units. She has also been the leading researcher of 3 projects financed by the Portuguese Foundation of Science and Technology, who resulted in the development of benchmarking websites for secondary schools and hospitals in Portugal. She has been also involved in consultancy work and acts as Associate Editor of the Journal of Productivity Analysis and as an Editor of the DEA journal. ",
year = "2014",
month = mar,
doi = "10.1016/j.seps.2013.11.001",
language = "English",
volume = "48",
pages = "38--48",
journal = "Socio-Economic Planning Sciences",
issn = "0038-0121",
publisher = "Elsevier Ltd.",
number = "1",
}