Similarly, other authors define cost objects clustering as groups whose services similar demands for ED functions (i.e.
HOSPITAL ACTIVITY COST EXAMPLES CODE
However, the authors do not present the cost objects and suggest that each hospital should code their own diseases according to the ICD. Another methodology to compute the costs of the clinical processes in EDs, uses homogeneous functional groups, which are defined based on similar consumption activities followed by an imputation to clinical processes. Other studies consider cost objects just for a subset of ED cases, such as: division costs for services to specific patients, for example hospitalized patients and pre-selected diseases. These two classifications do not provide complete information about ED services, since they were designed to facilitate billing considering ED charges according to the acuity level of the patient and the intensity of supplies and services provided, so most of the time EDs are seen as an intermediate service. Other key cost objects that have been used for allocation are: Diagnostic Related Groups (DRGs) and case-mix by using the international classification of diseases (ICD). This definition addresses the classification of patients from a more macro perspective. For example, cost objects of an ED can be classified into three types based on the patient’s status: Urgency Emergency and Non-Emergency.
Cost objectsĭifferent published studies use various types of cost objects for EDs. In health care, cost objects could be patients, products, projects, service contracts, and any other work unit. A cost object is anything for which a separate measurement of costs is desired. Secondly, no standardized categorization for grouping costs has been defined, i.e. Firstly, cost calculation of clinical processes of Emergency Departments (EDs) does not allow comparison between healthcare units or services. However, it is still unclear how much it costs to deliver emergency care worldwide. The level of emergency care spending in the United States is between 5 and 6% of the total health expenditure, reaching 10% in some states. A total of 53 out of 59 cost objects were identified for that particular unit within a calendar year.Įmergency care expenditures are a growing problem both in Chile and worldwide. We also present the results of applying this cost objects list to a particular ED. In different EDs, each cost object will be the result of a similar combination of activities performed. Furthermore, cost comparison among hospitals using our final 59 cost objects list is more accurate and based on comparable units. ConclusionsĪmong the main benefits of our cost objects definition are: the possibility of tracing the processes generated by the services delivered by EDs, the economic sense in its grouping, the chance of using any costing methodology, the flexibility with other classification systems such as DRGs and ICDs, and the opportunity of costing for both diseases and treatments. Hospitals may have all these cost objects or just a subset of them depending on the services they provide. This study considers two stages, first, we analyzed the case-mix of two hospitals collecting their data to define and diagram their processes, activities and to obtain their cost objects, second, we used four additional hospitals to validate our initial findings. The aim of this study is to a propose a standardized methodology to identify a list of cost objects that can be used by any ED to compute costs considering that the resulting data must facilitate unit management by improving the information available for decision-making.
0 kommentar(er)
