Evaluating the Feasibility of Financial Variables of Health: A Hospital Administrator’s Viewpoint

Abstract

Background: Analysis of costs and incomes and analyzing the relationship between current and capital expenditures, attention to cost recovery and changes in investment patterns are of utmost importance in the economy of hospitals. The effective use of financial variables and subsequently performance evaluation of hospitals would help to facilitate the continuation of activities which provides the ground for the economic administration of hospital industry. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the viewpoints of executive administrators of hospitals in Iran to evaluate the feasibility of using financial variables of health in hospitals. Material and Methods: The present study was an applied research which is conducted using AHP (Analytical Hierarchy Process) technique. After extracting the evaluation variables, the financial performance of hospitals was evaluated using the questionnaire which was confirmed by Cronbach’s Alpha equal to 0.85. Moreover, the group of experts in this study included 62 Iranian hospital administrators. Results: Global indices for the economic evaluation of hospitals were identified which were categorized into 9 domains/factors using AHP (Analytical Hierarchy Process); furthermore, they were prioritized regarding the importance and feasibility in hospitals. Conclusion: Utilizing financial variables in evaluating the economic performance of hospitals can determine their economic growth. Moreover, analysis of the current status of hospitals can be used to make strategic decisions and provides a basis for comparisons between hospitals and their rankings. [GMJ. 2016;5(1):25-30]