Until recently Italian hospitals had no cost accounting or activity data collection systems, being formally required only to do financial book-keeping. The cost analysis method presented here might be used to set up d...
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Until recently Italian hospitals had no cost accounting or activity data collection systems, being formally required only to do financial book-keeping. The cost analysis method presented here might be used to set up detailed and complete hospital cost accounting, which would permit a better understanding of patterns of resource distribution among departments, better opportunities for cost saving and cost control for hospital managers and health authorities. The study first identified a framework within which to assess the annual cost related to a hospital ward, then calculated the mean bed day cost for each speciality. Cost data were collected over one year in 1996 from manually compiled records, at one local hospital in Northern Italy. Costs were estimated following a step-down allocation method. Wards requiring a major amount of resources per day of stay are intensive cardio-coronary unit (US$650.689), and ophthalmology (US$483.322). The less expensive ward is general medicine (US$148.645). The cost analysis method presented in this study might be used to set a detailed and complete hospital cost database, which is a necessary tool for hospital managers to realise cost control and cost recovery.
We introduce a technique for patient mix-adjusting x̄ charts and compared differences between unadjusted and patient mix-adjusted results. Our data came from coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery patients at Bap...
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Obtaining adequate physician availability remains a challenge to many rural communities. To ensure 24‐hour emergency room physician coverage, many rural hospitals contracted for emergency room services from out‐of‐...
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Objectives: To determine how public (NHS or local government), private (for-profit) and voluntary (non-profit) providers of residential mental health care compare. Do they support different clienteles? And do their se...
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Objectives: To determine how public (NHS or local government), private (for-profit) and voluntary (non-profit) providers of residential mental health care compare. Do they support different clienteles? And do their services cost different amounts? Methods: Based on a cross-sectional survey of residential care facilities and their residents in eight English and Welsh localities, the characteristics and costs of care in the different sectors (NHS, local government, private, voluntary) were compared. Variations in cost were examined in relation to residents' characteristics using multiple regression analyses, which also allowed standardisation of results before making inter-sectoral comparisons. Results: Private and voluntary providers of residential care support different clienteles from the public sector. The patterns of inter-sectoral cost differences vary between London and non-London localities. In London, voluntary sector facilities may be more cost-efficient than the other sectors, but local government/private sector comparisons show no consistent difference. Outside London, the results suggest clear cost advantages for the private and voluntary sectors over the local government sector. Conclusions: Private and voluntary providers may have some economic advantages over their public counterparts. However, outcomes for residents were not studied, leaving unanswered the question of comparative cost-effectiveness.
The authors conducted a national survey of 355 general medical/surgical hospitals to assess constant observation (CO) practices. The authors assessed overall use, expense, staffing patterns, funding strategies, and co...
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The authors conducted a national survey of 355 general medical/surgical hospitals to assess constant observation (CO) practices. The authors assessed overall use, expense, staffing patterns, funding strategies, and cost-saving interventions. Virtually all responding hospitals (N=102) reported using some form of CO. Several hospitals reported significant decreases in CO expenditures after the implementation of cost-saving interventions (the largest annual decrease reported was $340,000). Cost-saving interventions included utilizing consolidated bed spaces, relocating patients near nursing stations, placing at-risk patients in bed enclosure devices, and regularly assisting patients to the toilet. In addition, less costly personnel were hip-ed, and volunteers and/or patient family members provided CO (or were required to assist with the cost of CO). Finally, hospital staff were educated about the costs and the appropriate use of CO. They were also taught to recognize and effectively treat delirium.
This article characterizes the academic, administrative, clinical service, and fiscal characteristics of departments of psychiatry in traditional children's hospitals to determine the characteristics of fiscally s...
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This article characterizes the academic, administrative, clinical service, and fiscal characteristics of departments of psychiatry in traditional children's hospitals to determine the characteristics of fiscally successful programs. A survey of chairs of psychiatry from short-term general children Is hospitals was conducted based on 38 questions addressing the descriptive characteristics of their respective departments. The characteristics of psychiatry programs identified as fiscally succcessful were compared to those of programs that required subsidy. Nine of 45 eligible children's hospitals (20%) did not have a department or section of psychiatry, and surveys were returned by 35 of 36 department chairs (97% response). Considerable variation exists in the academic, administrative, clinical services, and fiscal characteristics of programs, although over half are operating at a deficit. Fiscal success was associated with availability of inpatient and intermediate levels of psychiatric care, better integration of the psychiatry program within the children's hospital, and adequate fiscal information being provided to the psychiatry chair: Additional research regarding the potential of psychiatric services to generate clinical success and cost savings is warranted. pediatric health care professionals and third-party payers should be educated regarding the relevance of psychiatric services within children's hospitals and in physically ill children.
Background: Carotid endarterectomy [CEA) is one of the top-five surgical diagnosis-related groups at Keesler Medical Center. The geometric mean length of stay for CEA during fiscal year (FY) 1996 was 5.84 days (N = 41...
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Background: Carotid endarterectomy [CEA) is one of the top-five surgical diagnosis-related groups at Keesler Medical Center. The geometric mean length of stay for CEA during fiscal year (FY) 1996 was 5.84 days (N = 41), compared with 1.79 for a benchmark facility. Objective: Create a critical pathway to standardize care, maintain/improve patient outcomes, reduce lengths of stay, and decrease costs. Methods: A multidisciplinary team was formed to evaluate four patient-flow options. The team decided to discharge patients directly from the intensive care unit to meet both patient and staff needs. Results: The geometric mean length of stay decreased to 1.70 days (N = 54) in FY 1998, compared with 2.42 days (N = 40) in FY 1997. The cost savings was $5,841 per case, compared with $1,684 before creation of the pathway. This represents an annual savings of more than $224,000 and a 30% reduction in length of stay. Conclusions: The CEA pathway has standardized the care received by this group of patients. By decreasing variation, processes have become routine and more efficient.
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