Contractual Forms in Emergency Services : An Economic Transaction Cost Perspective

This paper evaluates how third level of attention hospitals in Bogotaacute; choose between different contractual arrangements with health maintenance organizations (HMO), using criteria which seek to reduce transaction costs. Williamson's theoretical framework is used as a basis for an empirical test. Likert scales are used to operationalize the independent variables and the stochastic multicriteria acceptability analysis (SMAA) and multiple discriminant analysis (MDA) for the test of the hypothesis. Results indicate that both HMO's and third level of attention hospitals in Bogotaacute; seek to reduce production rather than transactions costs