[The clinic as profit center and management with reference figures]

Financial responsibility is one of the important aspects of hospital management. At the hospital of Uster a trial with a profit center concept was started in October 1991. This concept included development of management tools such as reference figures to check costs, returns and performance. Thus it was possible to obtain an equilibrium between personnel costs and performance within 6 months. In the first half of 1993 the budgeted performance figures for 1993 have so far been reached. Although a complete implementation of a profit center concept in a public hospital does not seem possible, a profit center-like structure helps to obtain financial control and enables the hospital management to readily adapt to changing conditions.