In recent healthcare research, authors from various esteemed institutions, including the Department of Healthcare-associated Infection Management and Shanghai Institute of Infectious Disease and Biosecurity, have utilized data envelopment analysis (DEA) to evaluate the relative efficiency of infection control in different hospital departments. Their study incorporated all wards from a period spanning January to December 2022 as decision units, introducing five input and two output indicators intrinsically connected to infection prevention and control. The efficiency analysis using the Banker–Charnes–Cooper (BCC) model on these decision units revealed a significant variation in the input-output indexes of the 27 clinical departments involved.
Efficiency was categorized differently: technical efficiency, pure technical efficiency, scale efficiency, and comprehensive benefit, all showing high-average values. Analysis of the DEA context suggested that only 44% of the departments were functioning at optimal input-output ratios, indicating a high level of efficiency. In contrast, the remaining 56% showed potential for improvement in their input-output efficiency, underlining the need for refined infection control measures.
The study also highlighted the consistent need for skilled professionals and adequate funding to aid the efficiency of infection control in hospitals. DEA, a linear programming model that uses multiple input and output indicators for data analysis, turned out to be an adept tool for quantifying departmental efficiency and identifying efficiency disparities. It was also instrumental in providing decision-making support for hospital infection control managers.
Despite the widespread application of DEA for performance assessment, its utilization in infection control efficiency remains limited. Hence, the authors of the study underlined the need for additional research in this area to construct a DEA evaluation model tailored for infection control. This can potentially enhance hospital infection management by offering empirical analysis and improvement recommendations in line with hospital infection control requirements.