The cost of quality assurance: an exploratory study

This paper documents the resource consumption of the quality assurance program at St. Marys Hospital Medical Center, a 357-bed, community, acute care hospital located in Madison, WI. To date, little exists in the literature documenting the financial commitment of an institution to its quality assurance program. Furthermore, no standard with respect to appropriateness has been established, although 1% of the operating budget of an institution has been suggested. In 1986, St. Marys spent 0.6% of its operating budget on its quality assurance function. This calculates out to approximately $20 per admission. In addition, the medical staff and others contributed 1013 hr of time to the quality assurance program. It is important that institutions determine and document their resource commitment to the quality assurance function so that standards can be established and discussion with respect to appropriateness and efficiency can be stimulated. Finally, it is important to document this expenditure so that it can be contemplated in light of fiscal pressure and availability of service.