Priority Analysis of Criteria for Evaluation of Public Hospital Using Analytic Hierarchy Process

This study looks at priorities in managing public hospitals by figuring out categories needed to examine the quality of each hospital. In order to analyze priorities and relative importance of valuation indicator in Seoul municipal hospitals, surveys were sent via e-mail to medical professionals who have participated in evaluation of municipal hospitals. The analytic hierarchy process (AHP) was conducted using the Expert Choice 11.5 program. The results show that ‘providing public service’ is considered to be the most important category for all kinds of public hospitals, followed by ‘improving the quality of medical care,’ ‘hospital management and governance,’ and ‘efficient hospital management.’ The importance of ‘hospital management and governance’ and ‘efficient hospital management’ is different depending on the types of hospitals, but the importance of ‘providing public service’ and ‘improving the quality of care’ remains the same regardless of the types of hospitals. Based on these results, the study comes to a conclusion that public hospitals should place high value on certain categories and their management purposes should differ depending on their specific fields and characteristics. This study will help furthering discussions on the identity and roles of public hospitals.