Measuring the locational efficiency of the urban hospital

Abstract

A measure of locational efficiency, the locational imbalance vector (LIVOR) is developed and applied in the analysis of nineteen hospitals which provide medical, surgical, and obstetrical services in the Cincinnati metropolitan area. With only a few exceptions, the locational efficiency of the individual hospitals presently serving the Cincinnati area is found to be quite low. Some possible policy implications of the study's measure of locational efficiency are illustrated and its relation to a larger question, that of explaining the pattern of occupancy pressure in a metropolitan area, is also briefly discussed.