Abstract
To evalate the efficiency of public and private hospitals, the author used Data Envelopment Analysis(DEA), a mathematical linear programming method calculating the of ficiency of a unity(DMU: Decision Making Unit) in relation to the other units in analysis. DEA was applied to thirty three (10 public and 23 private) general hospitals wiwith 160 to 299 beds. In respect to productivity, public hospitals appeared to be a little more efficient than private ones, even though it's statisticansignificant. However, the efficiency score for profitability conversed that these contrary results were due to the caring of more medical protection patients in public hospitals, who brought less revenlue to te hospital than other patients. Public hospitals' superiority to private counterparts in productivity, which are aguged mainly based on cared patients, suggests that the former contributes so much positively to social utility. In particular, the fact that public hospitals are caring more medical protection patients, namely the poverty group whom the society should bear a burden of by all means, seems to be desirable in respect of role of publi hospitals.