Measure of planned performance to actual output. Used for labor, line, materials, time, etc.
The proportion of total costs that can be related to benefits achieved in practice. The relationship between the quantity of input or resources used in the production of medical services and the quantity of output produced.
The relationship between the quantity of inputs or resources used in the production of medical services and the quantity of outputs produced. Efficiency has three components: input productivity (technical efficiency), input mix (economic efficiency), and the scale of operation. Efficiency is usually measured by indicators such as output per man hour or cost per unit of output. However, such indicators fail to account for the numerous relevant dimensions (such as quality) of both inputs and outputs and are, therefore, only partial measures. Colloquially, efficiency measures the “bang for the buck” but, as the above suggests, it is a difficult concept to define and quantify. Ultimately, efficiency should probably be measured in terms of the costs of achieving various health outcomes: defining it in terms of productivity assumes that what is produced is efficacious and used in an effective manner.
The relationship of the amount of work accomplished to the amount of effort required. A given hospital’s food service is more efficient than another hospital’s in one measure if, for example, it can furnish meals to patients for a lower average cost per meal (assuming that the meals are of equal quality). Although efficiency is usually thought of in terms of cost, it can equally well be measured in other ways, such as time; for example, the automobile racing crew which can change a set of tires in the shortest time is the most efficient.
The optimal use of resources, e.g., chemical reagents in a laboratory, human resources in an institution, or health care dollars in a governmentally administered public health program.