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Analytic Hierarchy Process for Health Technology Assessment: A Case Study for Selecting a Maintenance Service Contract

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Multicriteria and Multiagent Decision Making with Applications to Economics and Social Sciences

Part of the book series: Studies in Fuzziness and Soft Computing ((STUDFUZZ,volume 305))

Abstract

Objective: In this study, the Analytic Hierarchic Process (AHP) was used to improve Health Technology Assessment (HTA) by: tracking the decision processes allowing stakeholders to understand the work done by decision-makers (DMs); weighting properly the most appropriate DM for each dimension of the problem; extending decision processes to DMs not skilled in complex mathematical methods. Moreover, our goal was to quantify qualitative knowledge, which affects HTA, using a scientific method. As a case study, we focused on the choice of a maintenance contract for a Computerized Tomography scanner.

Methods: The AHP was applied to support HTA for the need analysis and for the assessment of how each alternative fits each need. sixteen managers from eight hospitals were involved to assess the demand’s needs. Managers of four leading manufacturers providing maintenance services were involved to analyze different offers.

Results: AHP allowed quantify the relative importance of each need in each Hospital, showing that the demand changes according to several factors as: technologic asset, mission, position, and environment. Moreover, the proposed method enabled to measure how each contract adhered the demand, without further features not strictly required, for which hospitals are not willing to pay. These results were achieved using a fully traceable method, allowing stakeholders to fully understand the decision process.

Conclusion: AHP allowed to model demand and offer in a coherent framework of decision making, including both qualitative and quantitative knowledge. This enabled to reach the objectives of this study, quantifying needs’ relative importance and consequently the adherence of each contract.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biomedical, Electronic and Telecommunication Engineering, University of Naples “Federico II”, Naples, Italy

    Leandro Pecchia & Paolo Melillo

Authors
  1. Leandro Pecchia
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  2. Paolo Melillo
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Correspondence to Leandro Pecchia .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. , Department of Architecture, Second University of Napoli, Via San Lorenzo s/n, Aversa, 81031, Italy

    Aldo G. S. Ventre

  2. “G. d’Annunzio", Department of Letters, Arts and, University of Chieti-Pescara, Via dei Vestini 31, Chieti, 66100, Italy

    Antonio Maturo

  3. Faculty of Military Technology, Department of Mathematics and Physics, University of Defence, Kounicova 65, Brno, 66210, Czech Republic

    Šárka Hošková-Mayerová

  4. , Systems Research Institute, Polish Academy of Sciences, ul. Newelska 6, Warsaw, 01-447, Poland

    Janusz Kacprzyk

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Pecchia, L., Melillo, P. (2013). Analytic Hierarchy Process for Health Technology Assessment: A Case Study for Selecting a Maintenance Service Contract. In: Ventre, A., Maturo, A., Hošková-Mayerová, Š., Kacprzyk, J. (eds) Multicriteria and Multiagent Decision Making with Applications to Economics and Social Sciences. Studies in Fuzziness and Soft Computing, vol 305. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-35635-3_21

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-35635-3_21

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-35634-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-35635-3

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