Extracorporeal photopheresis in chronic graft-versus-host disease: clinical description and economic study

Abstract Introduction Although extracorporeal photopheresis (ECP) is a promising second-line therapy in the treatment of chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGVHD), its use is limited by its high cost. This study aims to describe the clinical evolution of patients who underwent ECP therapy for cGVHD and to perform an economic analysis of the therapy Methods This was a case series between 2016 and 2020 describing the clinical response to ECP and a micro-cost analysis of the therapy using time-driven activity-based costing. Results Six patients underwent ECP for corticosteroid-dependent cGVHD The cost per ECP session is 14,960.90 Brazilian reais (BRL), which primarily consists of the ECP kit with an activator (82.78%), followed by the hospital's physical structure (14.66%), human resources (2.48%) and exams/inputs (0.08%). The number of sessions performed ranged from 2 to 42. The total cost of the therapy per patient ranged from BRL 30,000 to 500,000. Conclusion The response of the patient with cGVHD to treatment with ECP was variable. These micro-costing results can be used to develop remuneration and cost control strategies in hematopoietic stem cell transplantation programs, as well as in further economic studies.

Custeio Baseado em Atividade e Tempo (TDABC) do modelo CEDMAC de terapia assistida para dispensação de medicamentos imunobiológicos para doenças reumatológicas no SUS / Time-Driven Activity Based Costing (TDABC) of the CEDMAC model of assisted therapy for dispensing immunobiological rheumatologic medications at SUS

Objetivos: Mensurar o custo dos procedimentos de infusão de imunobiológicos no modelo CEDMAC (Centro de Dispensação de Medicações de Alto Custo) e estimar o custo minimização integral gerada pela existência desse modelo. Métodos: A metodologia de Custeio Baseado em Atividade e Tempo (TDABC) foi usada para calcular os custos dos procedimentos. Tempos de atividades, capacidades máximas de atendimento e fluxos dos processos internos foram obtidos em entrevistas e validados por meio de acompanhamento de pacientes. Os procedimentos foram categorizados em três tipos: a) aplicação subcutânea, b) infusão endovenosa rápida e c) infusão endovenosa longa. O custo-minimização foi estimado a partir de análise de 2017 para pacientes com artrite reumatoide (AR). Resultados: Ao longo de 2019, foram realizados 12.074 atendimentos no CEDMAC. Desses atendimentos, 60% foram de aplicação subcutânea (custo de R$ 117,90), 30%, de infusão endovenosa rápida (custo de R$ 169,90) e 10%, de endovenosa longa (custo de R$ 217,50). Usando a análise realizada em 2017, foi possível calcular o custo-minimização integral do modelo (uma economia líquida estimada de R$ 1.258.024,26 ao ano) e também extrapolar esses valores para todo o SUS caso o modelo fosse difundido no país (uma economia líquida estimada de R$ 189.401.652,88). Conclusão: Utilizando o método de TDABC, foi possível realizar de maneira rápida e eficiente o custeio dos principais procedimentos realizados no modelo CEDMAC. Essa análise embasará a solicitação da incorporação desses procedimentos na tabela unificada do SUS. Caso os procedimentos sejam incorporados e o modelo CEDMAC, difundido pelo Brasil, estima-se que a economia gerada seja da ordem de 189 milhões de reais ao ano.

Objectives: To measure the costs of immunobiological infusion procedures in the CEDMAC model (Centro de Dispensação de Medicações de Alto Custo) and to estimate the full cost-minimization generated by the existence of this model. Methods: Time-Driven Activity Based Costing (TDABC) methodology was used to calculate the procedures costs. Activity times, service capacities and internal flows were obtained from employee interviews and validated by follow-up with patients. Procedures were categorized into three types: a) subcutaneous, b) intravenous fast infusion, and c) intravenous slow infusion. The full cost-minimization was estimated based on a 2017 analysis of the cost-minimization for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients. Results: In 2019, 12,074 patients were attended at CEDMAC. Of these, 60% of infusions were subcutaneous (costing R$ 117.90 each), 30% were fast intravenous infusion (costing R$ 169.90), and 10% were slow intravenous infusion (costing R$ 217.50). Using a 2017 RA analysis, it was possible to calculate the full cost-minimization of the model, with an estimated net savings of R$ 1,258,024.26 per year. The estimated net savings if the model were disseminated throughout the country for the entire SUS would be R$ 189,401,652.88. Conclusion: Using the TDABC method it was possible to quickly and efficiently estimate the cost allocation of the main procedures performed in the CEDMAC model. This analysis will support the request for incorporating these procedures into SUS. If the procedures were incorporated, and the CEDMAC model was disseminated throughout Brazil, the savings generated by this initiative could be up to 189 million reais per year.

The cost of total hip replacement: a multicentric TDABC comparison in Brazil / O custo da artroplastia de quadril: uma comparação multicêntrica TDABC no Brasil

Objective: Monitoring costs is critical in searching for a more effective healthcare system. This study aimed to comprehend the care pathway and measure the costs associated with hip replacement surgeries in different hospitals in Brazil. Methods: The time-driven activity-based costing method was applied for cost data collection and analyses. Data on 62 patients were retrieved from five public hospitals. A descriptive cost analysis was followed by a comprehensive analysis of the variability in each hospital's care process, leading to suggestions for cost-saving opportunities along with the surgical care pathway. As a final analysis, the cost of surgical treatment was contrasted with the national reimbursement fee. Results: The mean cost per patient of the total sample was $5,784 (MIN-MAX $2,525.9-$9,557.8). Pre- and post-surgery hospitalization periods demonstrated the highest variability in length of time and resource consumption among centers. Compared to the national best practice fee, the average cost per inpatient total hip arthroplasty (THA) pathway from all six hospitals was approximately 7x the national reimbursement. Conclusion: The application of the TDABC allowed us to identify differences in the surgical care pathway among hospitals, which could be explored in further studies aimed at designing a benchmark surgical pathway. Differences in how the treatment is delivered to patients also justified the high-cost variability among centers.

Objetivo: O custo do monitoramento é um elemento-chave na busca contínua por um sistema de saúde mais eficaz. O objetivo deste estudo foi compreender a trajetória assistencial e mensurar os custos associados às cirurgias de artroplastia do quadril em diferentes hospitais do Brasil. Métodos: O método de custeio baseado em atividades orientado pelo tempo foi aplicado para a coleta e análise de dados de custos. Os dados de 62 pacientes foram recuperados de cinco hospitais públicos. Uma análise descritiva de custos foi seguida por uma análise abrangente da variabilidade no processo de atendimento de cada hospital, levando a sugestões de oportunidades de redução de custos junto com a via de atendimento cirúrgico. Como análise final, o custo do tratamento cirúrgico foi contrastado com o valor de reembolso nacional. Resultados: O custo médio por paciente da amostra total foi de $ 5.784 (MIN-MAX $ 2.525,9-$ 9.557,8). Os períodos de internação pré e pós-operatórios demonstraram a maior variabilidade no tempo e no consumo de recursos entre os centros. Em comparação com o reembolso nacional de melhores práticas, o custo médio por cirurgia de prótese de quadril de paciente internado de todos os seis hospitais foi de aproximadamente 7x o reembolso nacional. Conclusão: A aplicação do TDABC nos permitiu identificar diferenças na via de atendimento cirúrgico entre hospitais, o que poderia ser explorado em estudos futuros que visem projetar uma via cirúrgica de referência. As diferenças na forma como o tratamento está sendo entregue aos pacientes também contribuíram para justificar a alta variabilidade dos custos entre os centros.

Awareness about the concept of Activity Based Costing (ABC) among medical laboratory Professionals

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.

Aplicação do método de custeio baseado em atividade e tempo (TDABC) em uma Instituição de Longa Permanência de Idosos (ILPI) / The application of time-driven activity-based costing in an Elderly People Institution

Objetivos: O envelhecimento da população brasileira é caracterizado por ser um processo progressivo e crescente. A necessidade de gerenciamento econômico robusto dos serviços disponibilizados à saúde do idoso torna-se imprescindível. O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar a estrutura de gestão de custos de uma Instituição de Longa Permanência de Idosos (ILPI). Métodos: As orientações para a aplicação do método de custeio baseado em atividade e tempo (TDABC) foram utilizadas como método de análise de custos. Os dados dos anos de 2018 e 2019 foram considerados para formar as análises e viabilizar a compreensão dos diferentes graus de consumo de recursos, durante o ciclo de cuidados da ILPI. Resultados: A aplicação da metodologia estimou o custo unitário de cada residente considerando o seu grau de dependência devido a sua condição clínica. Pôde-se identificar pontos de melhorias gerenciais, com ênfase na revisão da alocação das capacidades de hospedagem. Conclusões: O TDABC, como uma metodologia de fácil aplicação para estruturação dos custos relacionados a cada paciente, traz resultados oportunos para a melhor gestão e otimização de recursos em organizações de saúde. Sugere-se para trabalhos futuros a aplicação de um estudo de precificação dos serviços da ILPI, de modo que essa possa pautar os valores de mensalidades cobradas em bases mais sólidas.

Objectives: The need for a robust management of services focus on the elderly health becomes essential. The objective of this study was to evaluate the costs structure of an Elderly Long Term Care Institution (ILPI). Methods: The literature orientations for the application of the time-driven activity-based costing (TDABC) were used as a cost analysis method. Data from 2018 and 2019 were considered to form the analyzes and enable the understanding of the different degrees of resource consumption during the LTCI care cycle. Results: The application of the methodology estimated the unit cost of each resident considering their degree of dependence due to their clinical condition. Management improvement points could be identified, with emphasis on the review of hosting capacity allocation. Conclusions: TDABC as an easily applied methodology that brings timely results for better resource management and optimization in healthcare organizations. It is suggested for future researches the application of a pricing study of the services of ILPI, so that it can guide the monthly fees charged on a better substantiated basis.

Cost accounting of telemedicine service items based on improved activity-based costing / 中华医院管理杂志

Telemedicine can optimize deployment of medical resources and minimize diagnosis discrepancies.Formulation of a rational project pricing and scientific compensation policy will be conducive to its future development. The concept of human resource consumption in RBRVS was used as reference to improve the activity-based costing ( ABC ) method. The authors sorted out the resource cost repository, identified the activity system, classified the motivation resources into respective activity cost repositories, and calculated the cost of respective cost object distribution.The cost of three telemedicine service items(remote single discipline consultation, remote image consultation and remote pathology consultation were 119.69, 147.03 and 161.61 yuan respectively) was calculated by the improved ABC.It can better indicate project costs than that calculated by the traditional ABC(137.30, 147.17 and 144.08 yuan), and proves more consistent with the existing prices of other province(134.00, 150.00 and 174.00 yuan).

The Cost of Radiology Procedures Using Activity Based Costing (ABC) for Development of Cost Weights in Implementation of Casemix System in Malaysia / Jurnal Sains Kesihatan Malaysia

@#Presently there is a gross lack of information on cost and cost weights in many developing countries that implementcasemix system. Furthermore, studies that employed Activity Based Costing method (ABC) to estimate the costs of radiologyprocedures were rarely done in developing countries, including Malaysia. The main objective of this study is to determinethe costs of radiology procedures for each group in casemix system, in order to develop cost weights to be used in theimplementation of the casemix system. An economic evaluation study was conducted in all units in the Department ofRadiology in the first teaching hospital using the casemix system in Malaysia. From the 25,754 cases, 16,173 (62.8%)of them were from medical discipline. Low One Third and High One Third (L3H3) method was employed to trim theoutlier cases. Output from the trimming, 15,387 cases were included in the study. The results revealed that the totalinpatients’ charges of all the radiology procedures was RM1,820,533.00 while the cost imputed using ABC method wasRM2,970,505.54. The biggest cost component were human resources in Radiology Unit (Mobile) (57.5%), consumables(78.5%) of Endovascular Interventional Radiology (EIR) Unit, equipment (81.4%) of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)Unit, reagents (68.1%) of Medical Nuclear Unit. The one highest radiology cost weight, was for Malaysia DiagnosisRelated Group (MY-DRG®)B-4-11-II (Hepatobiliary and Pancreas Neoplasms with severity level II, 2.8301). The methodof calculation of the cost of procedures need to be revised by the hospital as findings from this study showed that the costimposed to patient is lower than the actual cost.

Estimation Of Cost Of Diagnostic Laboratory Services Using Activity Based Costing (ABC) For Implementation Of Malaysia Diagnosis Related Group (My-Drg®) In A Teaching Hospital

The Malaysia Diagnosis Related Group (MY-DRG®), established since 2002, is a patient classification system that stratifies disease severity and categories patients into iso-resource groups. Casemix can be used to estimate costs per episode of care and as a provider payment tool in health services. Casemix has also been used to enhance quality and improve the efficiency of health services. Hence, estimation cost per DRG is important especially in developing countries where costing data are still scarce. We embarked on a study to determine the costs of the diagnostics laboratory services for each MY-DRG® based on the severity of illnesses. Most costing studies for diagnostic laboratory services usually focus on the cost of consumables and equipment alone and employed the step-down costing method. Very few studies applied Activity-Based Costing (ABC) method to estimate the costs for diagnostic laboratory services. This study was done with the purpose of developing the diagnostics laboratory cost using the ABC method. All medical cases discharged from UKM Medical Centre (UKMMC) in 2011 grouped into MY-DRG® were included in this study. In 2011, a total of 2.7 million diagnostic laboratory investigations were carried out in the Department of Diagnostic Laboratory Services in UKMMC. ABC was conducted from January to December 2013 in all units of the department. Cost of 242 types of diagnostic laboratory services were collected using a costing format. Out of 25,754 cases, 16,173 (62.8%) cases were from the medical discipline. After trimming using L3H3 method, 15,387 cases were included in the study. Most of the cases were on severity level one (44.6%), followed by severity level two (32.3%) and severity level three (23.1%). The highest diagnostic laboratory service weight was for Lymphoma & Chronic Leukemia, severity level III (C-4-11-III) with the value of 5.9609. Information on seven cost components was collected form each procedure: human resources, consumables, equipment, reagents, administration, maintenance and utilities. The results revealed that, the biggest cost component for human resources was in Molecular Genetic Unit (89.6%), consumables (34.8%) from Tissue Culture Unit, equipment (11.2%) and reagents (68.1%) from Specialized Haemostasis Unit. In conclusion, the accurate and reliable cost of the diagnostic laboratory services can be determined using ABC. Top management of the department should be able to use the output of the study to take appropriate steps to reduce unnecessary wastages of resources in the various units of the services.

STUDY ON THE COST OF INGUINAL HERNIA DISEASE BASED ON CLINICAL PATHWAY AND ACTIVITY BASED COSTING / 现代医院

Objective To calculate the cost of inguinal hernia disease .Methods With the inguinal hernia clinical pathway standardized diagnosis and treatment project as the basis , cost was estimated using activity based cos-ting.Results Inguinal hernia treatment project cost is 4 594.96 yuan, higher than the current charges 1 448.36 yuan.Conclusion According to the clinical pathway , cost accounting of disease activity based costing method , can be more scientific to measure out of inguinal hernia disease cost .

Integrated Care Pathway (Icp) On Management Of Occupational Related Chronic Low Back Pain (Oclbp) In Malaysia: A Critical Review

Occupational Related Chronic Low Back Pain (OCLBP) is a globally recognized illness that causes reduction in productivity and substantial economic burden to the countries. It requires a multidisclipinary approach involving employer, healthcare provider, compensatory and enforcement agencies. However there is no specific guideline or pathway that has integrated the roles of each responsible agency. The objective of this article is to highlight the need and to propose a coordinated approach through the concept of Integrated Care Pathway (ICP). Therefore, we reviewed international and local guidelines as well as published articles on chronic low back pain and care pathway. We believed that development of a pathway will be able to organize the role of management at every level, reducing the variations in the management, addressing issues of communicating the findings between the responsible stakeholders, fulfilling the requirements as the laws, allows effective and feasible approaches to take place in terms of cost and practicality, and increase the awareness on occupational diseases. Expected challenges such as limitation of resources, unawareness and lack of understanding on OCLBP from every level are issue that we agreed can be bridged through ICP.

The Application of Time Driven Activity-Based Costing Approach in the Mode of Hospital Total Cost Accounting / 中国卫生经济

Objective: To build total cost allocation model based on Time Driven Activity-based Costing (TDABC) and explore how to use it to improve the hospital cost accounting system. Methods: Take an ultrasonic cardiogram department of public hospital as a cost object to estimate the cost of medical service, as well as the efficiency of service and operating benefit analysis by using TDABC method. Results: Parts of routine services of the ultrasonic cardiogram departments having policy loss in a public hospital, the department’ s capacity are not fully utilized in a certain period. Conclusion: TDABC not only plays positive role in raising the level of hospital cost management, but also provides useful references and scientific basis for the formulation and revision of medical service fee and carring out the DRGs payment.

Dental implant cost estimation using the Activity-Based Costing approach / 대한치과보철학회지

PURPOSE: There is a growing concern for the cost management of medical institutions. The purpose of this study was to estimate Activity-Based Costing (ABC) for dental implant cost. ABC refers to allocating resources or cost based on the activities of services. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A dental institution located in the metropolitan area was selected in this study. The tax accounting data of the institution were utilized to confirm total cost, and the institution was asked to make out clinical activities to figure out what activities were carried out. The direct cost and indirect cost for dental implant were separately estimated, and cost driver was analyzed to estimate the indirect cost accurately. RESULTS: The rates of the direct and indirect cost respectively stood at 35.8 and 49.5 percent. The cost for a dental implant was found to be approximately 1,579 won, and the cost of prosthetic surgery and treatment that included implant surgery accounted for the largest portion of the cost, which was 470 thousand won (30%). And the weight of training and education on dentistry was relatively higher than that of the other kinds of treatment. CONCLUSION: In order to ensure accurate and scientific costing for dental implant, not only direct medical procedure but every pre- and post-procedure activity should fully be taken into account. Pre-activities, post-activities, education and training are included in the indirect cost, but all these activities are mandatory and associated with the quality of treatment and the satisfaction level of patients.

Activity-based costing management of medical service items / 中华医院管理杂志

Delicacy management proves a pressing need in cost management of medical service items in the current hospital operation.This paper first covered the methodology and system of hospital costing.It went on to describe the costing for four major medical service items in a quarter in 2011 using the activity-based costing method with the ultrasonographic section of a large hospital as an example.The outcomes were compared to the traditional costing method and the statutory pricing standards,resulting in the proposal and recommendation on reforming the costing methodology of service item pricing,and applying the activity-based costing management of medical service items in the hospital.

Determinación y análisis de costos reales de tratamientos intensivos por paciente y día cama / Analysis of real costs of intensive treatments per patient and bed/day

El objetivo del trabajo es medir los costos reales asociados a las patologías tratadas en las Unidades de Cuidados Intensivos Adulto de los Hospitales Públicos de la Región del Maule, y compararlos con el costo asignado por Fonasa al día cama para el año 2011. Materiales y métodos: Se trata de un estudio prospectivo, aplicando el Sistema de Costos Basado en Actividades (ABC). Se incluyó 469 pacientes, 222 pacientes de la Unidad de Cuidados Intensivos del Hospital de Curicó y 247 pacientes la Unidad de Cuidados Intensivos del Hospital de Talca entre el 01 de enero y 30 de agosto de 2011, los que de acuerdo a edad y APACHE, representan los niveles de complejidad de pacientes de Unidades de Cuidados Intensivos a nivel nacional. Los pacientes se clasificaron según las patologías: sepsis, cardiovascular, respiratorias, neurológicas, trauma, digestivos, renales y otros. Resultados: Las patologías que presentan mayor mediana de costos por día cama son: sepsis ($362.115), respiratorias ($352.793), trauma ($348.442), renales ($341.928) y cardiovascular ($291.061). La estructura de costos del día cama está conformada principalmente por el costo asociado al recurso humano, cuyo valor máximo asciende a 64 por ciento, seguido del costo asociado a los medicamentos con un valor máximo de 15 por ciento. Los pacientes con sepsis y trauma absorben la mayor proporción de recursos en la Unidad de Cuidados Intensivos en estudio; 35 por ciento y 19 por ciento respectivamente y una proporción significativa de dichos costos es utilizada por pacientes que fallecen (34 por ciento y 19 por ciento) respectivamente. Conclusión: Todas las patologías en estudio tienen desviación desfavorable de costos, con respecto al arancel fijado por Fonasa, que sólo asciende a $192.160, para el año 2011.

The aim of the study is measures the real costs associated with the pathologies treated in the of Intensive Care Unid (ICU) Adults of the Public Hospitals of the region of the Maule, and to compare them with the cost assigned by Fonasa to the bed/day for the year 2011. Materials and methods: it is a question of a market study, applying the Activity-based costing (ABC). There was included 469 patients, 222 patients of the ICU of the Curicó’s Hospital and 247 patients the ICU of the Talca’s Hospital between January 01 and August 30, 2011, which in agreement to age and APACHE II, represent the levels of patients’ complexity of ICU to national level. The patients qualified according to the pathologies: sepsis, cardiovascular, respiratory, neurological, trauma, digestive, renal and others. Results: The pathologies that present major median of costs per day bed are: sepsis ($362.115), respiratory ($352.793),trauma ($348.442), renal ($341.928) and cardiovascular ($291.061). The structure of costs of the day bed is shaped principally by the cost associated with the human resource, which maximum value promotes 64 percent, followed by the cost associated with the medicines with a maximum value of 15 percent. The patients with sepsis and trauma absorbed the major proportion of resources in the ICU in our study; 35 percent and 19 percent respectively and a significant proportion of the abovementioned costs is used by patients who die (34 percent and 19 percent)respectively. Conclusion: All the pathologies in study have unfavorable diversion of costs, with regard to the duty fixed by Fonasa, which only promotes to $192.160, for the year2011.

Activity-based costing methodology as tool for costing in hematopathology laboratory.

Background: Cost analysis in laboratories represents a necessary phase in their scientific progression. Aim: To calculate indirect cost and thus total cost per sample of various tests at Hematopathology laboratory (HPL) Settings and Design: Activity-based costing (ABC) method is used to calculate per cost test of the hematopathology laboratory. Material and Methods: Information is collected from registers, purchase orders, annual maintenance contracts (AMCs), payrolls, account books, hospital bills and registers along with informal interviews with hospital staff. Results: Cost per test decreases as total number of samples increases. Maximum annual expense at the HPL is on reagents and consumables followed by manpower. Cost per test is higher for specialized tests which interpret morphological or flow data and are done by a pathologist. Conclusions: Despite several limitations and assumptions, this was an attempt to understand how the resources are consumed in a large size government-run laboratory. The rate structure needs to be revised for most of the tests, mainly for complete blood counts (CBC), bone marrow examination, coagulation tests and Immunophenotyping. This costing exercise is laboratory specific and each laboratory needs to do its own costing. Such an exercise may help a laboratory redesign its costing structure or at least understand the economics involved in the laboratory management.

Activity-based costing as used in hospital business process management / 中华医院管理杂志

Business process cost management is key to hospital business process management It mostly consists of process cost accumulation and cost analysis. The paper probed into theories of Activity Based Costing (ABC), and built a model for hospital process costing based on the hospital organizational structure Discussed herein include the items of hospital medical services and their activity costs, followed by a case study to prove ABC as practical in the analysis and calculation of hospital business process costs.

Cost Analysis of Home Care with Activity-Based Costing(ABC) / 간호학회지

PURPOSE: This study was carried out to substantiate the application process of activity-based costing on the current cost of hospital home care (HHC) service. The study materials were documents, 120 client charts, health insurance demand bills, salary of 215 HHC nurses, operating expense, 6 HHC agencies, and 31 HHC nurses. METHOD: The research was carried out by analyzing the HHC activities and then collecting labor and operating expenses. For resource drivers, HHC activity performance time and workload were studied. For activity drivers, the number of HHC activity performances and the activity number of visits were studied. RESULT: The HHC activities were classified into 70 activities. In resource, the labor cost was 245wonper minute, operating cost was 9,570won per visit and traffic expense was an average of 12,750won. In resource drivers, education and training had the longest time of 67 minutes. Average length of performance for activities was 13.7 minutes. The workload was applied as a relative value. The average cost of HHC was 62,741won and the cost ranged from 55,560won to 74,016won. CONCLUSION: The fixed base rate for a visit in the current HHC medical fee should be increased. Exclusion from the current fee structure or flexible operation of traveling expenses should be reviewed.

Model Development of Hospital Process Reengineering by Activity-Based Costing / 대한의료정보학회지

The purpose of this research is to suggest a model for hospital process and verily the model through analyzing the results before and after reengineering grounded on the activity -based costing. The summary of research is as follows: First, two reengineering-applicable processes for a case hospital are chosen based on the issues from the patient requirements analysis and current process analysis as well as the general characteristics of hospital operations: accounting and clinical laboratory e xami nation processes. The integration of payment-related functions principle is applied to an accounting process which includes three sub processes. while the automatic transition of laboratory output principle is applied to a clinical laboratory examination process. Second, the studs shows more than 50% reduction of activities: nine activities from nineteen by the principle of integration of payment-related functions, and nine activities from fourteen by the principle of automatic transition of laboratory output. Finally. activity-based cost analysis before and alter reengineering results in 44% cost reduction: 43.9% in payment-related subprocesses and 41.1% in a clinical laboratory examination process. Therefor this research finds an enormous gap between costs before and after reengineerring. The contributions of this research are two-fold: one is that activity-based costing methodology is practically valid for measuring the cost-performance analysis of hospital process reengineering, and another is that activity -based costing can he utilized not only an initiative of process engineering hut also as a tool for evaluating a variety of activities by a simulation technique.

Application of activity-based costing to hospital cost management / 中华医院管理杂志

Objective To explore an advanced and effective method of hospital cost management so as to improve the effectiveness of hospital economic management. Methods A variety of methods were used, including field research, expert consultation, activity-based costing management, business process reengineering, and satisfaction survey combined with statistics and computer network technology. Results A system for implementing activity-based costing was established and remarkable results were achieved in lowering the cost of patient care, optimizing business process, raising the staff's awareness of cost, and assisting in development decision-making. Conclusion Activity-based costing, an advanced method of cost management, is of great significance to Chinese hospitals in reducing operational cost, optimizing work process, and improving the effectiveness of management.