Efficiency

Efficiency is one of the central preoccupations of health policy-makers and managers, and justifiably so. Inefficient care can lead to unnecessarily poor outcomes for patients, either in terms of their health, or in their experience of the health system. Inefficiency anywhere in the system is likely to deny health improvements to patients who might have been treated if resources had been used more effectively. Improving efficiency is, therefore, a compelling policy goal, especially in systems facing serious resource constraints. 

The desire for greater efficiency motivates a great deal of decision-making, but the routine use of efficiency indicators to guide decisions– and the clear understanding of what those indicators can tell decision-makers – is often severely lacking. This gap exists despite numerous advances in data collection and availability, as well as innovative methodological approaches that give valuable insights into how efficiently health care is delivered. 

To improve efficiency in the health system, we must first be able to measure it – so must ensure that our metrics are relevant and useful for policy-makers and managers. Through an edited volume on the subject (Cylus et al, 2016), a policy brief (Cylus et al, ) and a number of journal articles,  the Observatory has explored efficiency measurement in health systems across a wide range of production pathways and offered insights into the pitfalls and potential associated with various measurement techniques.