ABSTRACT
Background: Medical laboratories are an integral and essential component of the healthcare system. Information about costing and resource management is of paramount importance for providing services at a reasonable price and without quality compromise. Awareness of a scientific method of cost accountingActivity Based Costing (ABC), may contribute significantly to enhance the laboratories capacity to manage its resources efficiently. Objective: This study was done to know the awareness of Activity based costing. Materials & Methods: A preformed validated questionnaire was sent to various laboratory professionals affiliated to private and teaching hospital laboratories. 121 responses were recorded, percentages of which were entered in EXCEL sheets, graphically represented and analysed. Results: Majority of our participants were from medium sized laboratories (40%), working in private sectors, using a combination of automated & semi-automated technologies & not being accredited by regulating bodies. Activity based costing was being implemented in only 14 labs, with more than 70% of respondents not having an adequate knowledge about the same. Inadequate training (44.6%), not being involved in costing (46.3%) and assumed practical difficulties in implementing (9.1%) were some of the reasons cited. Conclusion: Healthcare providers from the laboratory had limited awareness on costing methods like ABC. Efforts to implement and create awareness about the same if made can upscale quality, and sustainable service delivery in lab services at reasonable costs especially in developing country like ours.