Cost analysis in a clinical microbiology laboratory

Area of Science:

• Medical Laboratory Science
• Health Economics
• Hospital Management

Background:

• Public hospitals require accurate cost data for business management and cost control.
• Microbiology laboratories need to determine the real cost of their services and products.
• Previous cost analyses in this sector may lack detailed methodology.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze the direct and indirect costs of microbiological products offered by a hospital laboratory.
• To estimate the profitability of different microbiological tests.
• To develop a catalogue of microbiological products with associated cost data.

Main Methods:

• A comprehensive cost analysis was performed on 73,192 microbiology tests over two years.
• A microbiological product catalogue was created based on homogeneity criteria (procedures, workload, costs).
• Direct personnel costs (workload-based), indirect personnel costs, material costs, and overheads were calculated using the College of American Pathologists methodology (1992).

Main Results:

• The average cost per microbiological product was 16.05 euros.
• The average cost of a urine culture was 13.59 euros, with significant differences between negative (10.72 euros) and positive (29.65 euros) results.
• Substantial heterogeneity was found in the costs of different products and per positive test.

Conclusions:

• A detailed cost analysis methodology enables accurate calculation of real costs for microbiological products.
• This cost information is essential for developing effective clinical management strategies in hospitals.
• Understanding cost variations, especially for positive results, can inform resource allocation and pricing.