Abstract
Background: This paper attempts to evaluate Primary Health Care System by evaluating Health Centers in Greece.Methods: Malmquist Index Data Envelopment Analysis is applied to study the total productivity of 155 Heath Centers in Greece during 2016-2018. The Data were collected from the Ministry of Health and were submitted into quality tests to ensure validity and avoid bias.Results: This paper measures the productivity of each of the 155 Health Centers in Greece and how it shifted during 2016-2018. In addition, the overall productivity change of the 155 Health Centers over time is calculated and analyzed into a change due to technical efficiency and a change due to technological efficiency. The analysis of the means values showed a decrease of 0,9% in the overall productivity factor from the year 2016 to the year 2017 and a decrease of 5,2% from the year 2017 to the year 2018. The overall decrease in the productivity of the 155 health Centers was 3,1%. From 2016 to 2018, 59 Health centers changed their productivity mainly due to technological change, 91 mainly due to technical efficiency change, while one Health Center showed regression to its total productivity due to equal regression of its technical efficiency and technology.Conclusions: The method used is non-parametric Data Envelopment Analysis along with Malmquist Index, so as to include panel data in the analysis. Meaningful results were extracted by indicating the number of Health Centers that their productivity improved, regressed or remained constant through the period 2016-2018. This paper may contribute to improve Health Centers’ efficiency and productivity. Furthermore, valuable results can be extracted, for the National Health Care System in order to match available resources depending on each Health Center’s needs, as well as for manager planners and stakeholders in Primary Health Care.JEL Classification: C14, C32, C52, I10