Equilibrium and efficiency in the first aid services market: The case of the emergency department of Sorrento

The emergency department (ED), the heart of first aid services, is confronted by both long queues of patients waiting for treatment and limited resources to treat them. Since efficiency plays a key role in the proper functioning of an ED, interest in the measurement of ED efficiency has increased considerably. The aim of this study is to explain the dynamics of ED efficiency through a first aid market equilibrium scheme. To this end, we conduct a two-step analysis of the city of Sorrento's daily ED data. First, we implement a data envelopment analysis (DEA) to study the efficiency dynamics of the Sorrento ED. Then, we apply a Hodrick-Prescott (HP) filter to verify whether changes in ED efficiency are affected by the slope of the first aid services' supply curve. The results show an inelastic supply curve in the low tourist season and an elastic supply curve in the high tourist season.