Page 35 - NIH Bulletin Vol. 21: January - June 2023 NIH Way Forward

Vol : 21 • January - Jun 2023 •

IMPROVING HEALTHCARE EFFICIENCY:
IMPROVING HEALTHCARE EFFICIENCY:
TAKING THE FIRST STEP
TAK ING THE FIRST STEP
• • • • • •
Sivaraj Raman
In this era of healthcare discoveries
and innovation, some of the biggest
hurdles faced in their implementation
are whether these strategies can
optimize our current practice. This
vital question brings about the current
research interest focusing on healthcare
efficiency. By considering efficiency
in their work, researchers can help to
improve the delivery of services, enhance
patient outcomes, and advance the
overall quality of healthcare.
An interesting talk on exploring the efficiency of hospital
With this in mind, the Centre for Health clustering by Dr. Ying Chu Ng
Economics Research (CHeER) under the
Institute for Health Systems Research moderated by Dr. See Kok Fong, who is currently a Senior
(IHSR) co-organized the first International Lecturer in the Economics Program at the School of Distance
Workshop on Healthcare Efficiency and Education, Universiti Sains Malaysia. The talk on ‘The Efficiency
Productivity Analysis with the School Of Resource Allocation In Highly Coordinated Hospital Clusters:
of Distance Education, Universiti Sains A Case Study In The Hospital Sector Of Hong Kong’ was given
Malaysia. The collaboration also included by Associate Professor Dr. Ying Chu Ng, from the School of
Chang Jung Christian University and the Bussiness, Hong Kong Baptist University. The talk managed to
National Yunlin University of Science and pique the interest of many participants to explore the efficiency
Technology from Taiwan. The workshop of cluster hospitals in their respective settings.
was aimed to bring together experts and
researchers in the healthcare industry The second session was moderated by Ms. Nurhafiza Md
to share their knowledge and insights Hamzah. Ms. Nurhafiza is currently a Health attachè at the
on the latest trends and developments Permanent Mission Malaysia of the United Nations in Geneva.
in efficiency and productivity analysis. The talk by Associate Professor Dr. Son Nghiem from ANU
The high demand for this new area was College of Health and Medicine, Australian National University
reflected by the involvement of 226 local was on ‘Efficiency Analysis In Healthcare: An Application To Sri
and international participants. Lankan Hospitals’. The very insightful session was focused on
how learning from selected facilities can improve the overall
The first session of the workshop was efficiency of healthcare services in a nation.

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