Costs of managing patients at a Canadian rheumatic disease unit

Financial and other costs of managing 194 inpatients and 433 outpatients referred to the rheumatology service of a Canadian general teaching hospital during 1978 were assessed. The tax financed institutional cost/outpatient visit was $102, compared to $112/inpatient day, which was 62% of the hospital's $180 cost/inpatient day. Hospital financial costs represent 78% of RDU outpatient costs and 85% of substantially lower than per diem rates. Our findings caution against relying solely on hospital data in assessing total economic costs of any diagnostic subset of patients.