Assessment of the Therapeutic Performance of a Selected Medical University Based On Driving Indices Using the AHP-TOPSIS Approach

Background: The assessment of the performance of medical universities as one of the main organizations providing healthcare services is of utmost significance. In this regard, the indices of treatment domain play a fundamental role in promoting health indices and affect the overall performance of the medical university. The present study evaluated the performance of a selected university of medical sciences in Iran based on treatment driving indices with the AHP-TOPSIS approach. Methods: This research applied a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods. In this study, first the driving indices were identified and weighted, and then the performance was analyzed according to the indices. The statistical population of the research consisted of key experts in the validation and weighting phase and of nine years of information pertaining to one of the medical universities of Iran in the final phase. The instrument used in the study was the Index Collection Form. Prioritization of indices was done by AHP method using Expert Choice and Excel. TOPSIS model were used to evaluate performance. Results: In the first step, using a review study, 111 indices were identified, and in the validation stage, 10 indices of treatment domain were selected. Then, based on hierarchical analysis and pairwise comparisons in the weighted indices, the highest weight or priority pertained to the index of the ratio of the total nursing staff to the available beds with a weight of 0.161 and the lowest weight or priority related to the index of natural delivery to all deliveries with a weight of 0.049. According to the TOPSIS method, the selected university showed the highest performance (0.228) in 2014 and the lowest performance (0.006) in 2017. Conclusion: Considering strategic measures in the deputy of treatment simultaneously to improve and manage research indices over time can improve the performance of universities. Thus, it is appropriate to monitor the indices periodically and in the order of priority, so that in addition to maintaining the efficiency, especially in the indices related to human resources, the effectiveness of the measures, including the improvement of the functional indices of the treatment domain, can also be improved.