A Framework for Ranking Hospitals Based on Customer Perception Using Rough Set and Soft Set Techniques

Abstract

Hospital ranking is a cumbersome task, as it involves dealing with a large volume of underlying data. Rankings are usually accomplished by comparing different dimensions of quality and services. Even the quality care measurement of a hospital is multi-dimensional: It includes the experience of both clinical care and patient care. In this research, however, the authors focus on ratings based only on customer perception. A framework which consists of two stages—Stage I and Stage II—is designed. In the first stage, the model uses a rough set in a fuzzy approximation space (RSFAS) technique to classify the data; whereas in the second stage, a fuzzy soft set (FSS) technique is employed to generate the rating score. The model is employed for comparing USA hospitals by region using annual HCAHPS survey data. This article shows how ranking of the healthcare institutions can be carried out using the RSFAS (rough set in a fuzzy approximation space) and fuzzy soft set techniques.