Research Article

Cost Analysis in Hospitals and An Application of Activity Based Costing Method

10.1501/Tipfak_0000000790

  • Ümit Erkol
  • İsmail Ağırbaș

Received Date: 21.06.2011 Accepted Date: 09.09.2011 J Ankara Univ Fac Med 2011;64(2):87-95

The aim of the study is to define more accurate clinical operational cost figures using the activ-ity-based costing as a cost accounting technique in a medical faculty which is a research and practise hospital. Thus, it is aimed at contribute to the health services managers’ tasks such as financial planning, performance inspection, quality and improvement.

The study is a descriptive study and it is conducted by analysing and evaluating of medical, administrative, financial and technical data retrospectively.

The services done at the KVC department in 2008 is composed the population of the study. 14 operational transactions which are the most implemented and represent the department’s activities according to department’s point of view and data from data-processing centre are chosen as a sample of the study.

With the activity-based costing some activities done in patient admission, policlinic, clinic, an-aesthesiology, operating room and intensive care units are evaluated variously and assessed in terms of the accuracy in pricing after comparing with the Health Budget Law.

The study concludes that activity-based costing can be implemented both in the public and private hospitals and hospitals which have traditional cost accounting systems can do this im-plementation more easily and productively.

Keywords: Activity-based costing, hospital, cost, cost accounting, health institutions