AN AHP MODEL FOR BRINGING EXPERTS TO CONSENSUS ON MEDICAL PAYMENT STANDARDS

Abstract

Many countries with health insurance systems conduct periodic payment standards reform. How to reach consensus in setting payment standards among different specialties with different agendas has become a critical issue. The purpose of this study is to construct an analytic hierarchy process (AHP) model to obtain judgments from experts about the importance of "factors related to establishing payment standards in the national health insurance program". Under this goal, the first tier contains four evaluation aspects, and the second tier contains sixteen evaluation criteria divided into four groups. The AHP model was then used to collect and combine the opinions of experts through an empirical study. The results can be directly used to formulate standard values as the basis for establishing payment standards. The results of our study strongly support that an AHP model is effective in forming a consensus among surgical specialists.