In this study, the supply-side factors affecting healthcare efficiency in the U.S are studied using data between 2010 and 2017. The recently developed non-parametric order-m estimator is used for the analysis. Results suggest that the U.S. has output production that is 87.6-percent of the expected maximum amount, with life expectancy being 3 years too short given healthcare spending and education levels. However, conditioning efficiency estimates on supply-side secondary environmental variables explains 34 to 85-percent of inefficiency found in the average county. This suggests that hospital expenditures are an inefficient mechanism to improve healthcare efficiency, while focus should be placed on the number and composition of healthcare personnel. Our results suggest that lack of access to care due to provider availability is the biggest impediment to timely and successful care, and that increasing the number of primary care providers or nurse practitioners will improve poor health outcomes in many counties. This suggests that healthcare providers are the main avenues to improve healthcare inefficiency on the supply side.

中文翻译：

---

美国供应方面因素和医疗保健效率的非参数调查

在本研究中，使用2010年至2017年之间的数据研究了影响美国医疗保健效率的供应方因素。分析中使用了最近开发的非参数order-m估计量。结果表明，美国的生产产量为预期最高产量的87.6％，鉴于医疗保健支出和教育水平，预期寿命短了3年。但是，根据供应方的次要环境变量进行效率估算，可以解释平均郡县效率低下的34％至85％。这表明医院支出是提高医疗保健效率的低效机制，而应将重点放在医疗保健人员的人数和组成上。我们的结果表明，由于提供者的可得性而无法获得护理是及时和成功护理的最大障碍，并且增加初级保健提供者或执业护士的人数将改善许多县的不良健康状况。这表明医疗保健提供者是改善供应方医疗保健效率低下的主要途径。