Multi-Criteria Decision-Making Process for Decentralized Healthcare Services Assessment

Abstract

Home health service, as decentralization form in many health systems, has an objective to deliver high-quality, long-term care inside the patient's home. However, management of those services is about handling a complex decision problem related with the care delivery process composed by technologies, patients, structures, and professionals. Consequently, the decision problem requires finding effective ways to involve assessment and management of several criterias to achieve continuous quality improvement. For this purpose, its useful implements structured approaches with multiple criteria decision analysis (MCDA) techniques. Nevertheless, there are many MCDA methods available and these differ not just in how they are put into practice but also in terms of fundamental theories underpinning them. Therefore, this chapter contributes with a methodological approach to establish a decision analysis for assessing home health services through MACBETH and ULOWA techniques. To demonstrate the feasibility of the methodology, a study case was applied into a homecare service.