Open AccessEFFICIENCY OF THE HEALTH CARE SYSTEM: A SUB‐STATE LEVEL ANALYSIS FOR WEST BENGAL (INDIA)
Author(s) -
Purohit Brijesh C.
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
review of urban & regional development studies
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.184
H-Index - 21
eISSN - 1467-940X
pISSN - 0917-0553
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-940x.2008.00149.x
Subject(s) - life expectancy , sanitation , national rural health mission , yardstick , per capita , stochastic frontier analysis , public health , economic growth , socioeconomics , business , health care , west bengal , environmental health , economics , health services , medicine , population , geometry , mathematics , nursing , pathology , production (economics) , macroeconomics
This paper attempts a sub‐state level analysis of health system efficiency, focusing on West Bengal, a low income Indian state. Using a stochastic frontier model, it provides an idealized yardstick for evaluation. Our results suggest that overall efficiency of the public health delivery system remains low due to considerable disparities across districts. This is owing to differentials in availability and utilization of inputs such as the per capita availability of hospitals, beds, and manpower, and adversely affects life expectancy. Overcoming these factoral disparities may help the deficient districts to improve life expectancy. It may require a considerable increase in medical and public health expenditure in rural areas in the state and especially calls for resource mobilization to improve infrastructure facilities and maintain essential supplies at primary health centers. This could be attempted partly through funds from the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) and by improving rural sanitation in poorer districts.