[Management accounting in hospital setting].

Area of Science:

• Health economics
• Hospital financial management
• Medical resource allocation

Context:

• Current hospital accounting focuses on short-term financial management, failing to address long-term resource limitations and optimal medical planning.
• Periodic income and expenditure accounts are insufficient for strategic resource allocation and managing healthcare demand versus supply.

Purpose:

• To establish disease category costs using case-mix methods like diagnosis-related groups (DRG) and health care resource groups (HRG).
• To calculate standard product costs for hospital services (e.g., radiology, preoperative nursing).
• To compare current costing procedures with a management accounting approach.

Summary:

• The study proposes calculating average DRG costs by combining standard product costs with diagnostic category-specific expenses.
• It contrasts the traditional costing method for hip arthroplasty at University Hospital Center Zagreb with a management accounting approach informed by British Health Care Resource experience.
• This methodology aims to integrate medical program implementation with financial constraints.

Impact:

• Implementing disease category costs facilitates medical program execution within financial limits.
• This approach empowers clinical staff by devolving managerial responsibility to the point of medical decision-making.
• Improved financial insights can lead to more efficient healthcare delivery and resource utilization.