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Summary
Standardizing cost accounting in healthcare is crucial for effective management and reimbursement. This study presents a uniform cost accounting model for long-term care services, including a novel method for ambulatory care.
Area of Science:
- Health Services Management
- Healthcare Economics
- Accounting
Background:
- Uniform cost data are vital for health service management, billing, reimbursement, and performance measurement.
- Developing standard cost accounting is challenging in long-term care due to diverse service configurations (inpatient, intermediate, ambulatory).
Purpose of the Study:
- To propose a uniform cost accounting model for multilevel long-term health services.
- To introduce a specialized method for ambulatory services cost accounting.
Main Methods:
- Development of a general cost accounting model for long-term care.
- Implementation of a specific method for ambulatory services using "hours accounted for" as the primary metric.
Main Results:
- A generalizable model for uniform cost accounting in long-term care settings has been presented.
- A practical method for ambulatory services cost accounting, based on "hours accounted for," was developed.
Conclusions:
- Standardized cost accounting approaches can be achieved even in complex long-term care environments.
- The proposed model and method enhance the uniformity and comparability of cost data in healthcare.