Impact of transaction costs on healthcare outcomes

Abstract

This article reviews transaction cost economics to frame a discussion of how inefficiencies in healthcare delivery processes affect clinical outcomes and differentiate between inefficiencies that are tractable from those that are transitional or intractable. Recognizing and quantifying these effects improves the ability of organizations to calculate returns on investment in quality improvement, research and development and related value enhancing, but it is subject to high-risk undertakings.

• business intelligence
• clinical outcomes
• evidence-based management
• health services
• policy
• quality improvement
• research
• transaction cost economics
• uncertainty