Abstract

In recent years, guided by policies, China's public health system has experienced rapid growth in inputs, particularly in medical equipment. From the Resource-Based View (RBV), organizations gain advantages through resources and capabilities, emphasizing not only key resources but also their utilization. Therefore, the critical issue is whether the investments are reasonable and effectively utilized, which relates to policy guidance and internal management. Previous studies often neglected medical equipment and mortality rates in capacity measurement due to data opacity and methodological limitations, resulting in biased outcomes. This study measures the capacity utilization (CU) of healthcare institutions in Chongqing, China from 2018 to 2021 using data envelopment analysis (DEA) and directional distance function (DDF). Findings reveal that the healthcare institutions in most districts of the city are underutilizing their capacity, even though their medical equipment remains relatively scarce. Furthermore, CU levels do not adequately reflect the advantages in economic conditions and medical resources. The results of Tobit regression analysis support the findings, highlighting managerial deficiencies within the public health sector.