Unit cost analysis of acute respiratory infection (ARI) clinic for COVID-19 screening at Bangbuathong hospital, Nonthaburi, Thailand

Abstract

The COVID-19 outbreak has affected the services of all hospitals in Thailand, especially making their financial position at risk of bankruptcy. Although managing the cost of health care services for COVID-19 effectively can help reduce that risk, but very few researches has been done and analyzed on these issues. This study aimed to identify the unit cost and cost recovery of Acute Respiratory Infection (ARI) clinic for COVID-19 screening at Bangbuathong Hospital. This research was a descriptive study by retrospective data collection from hospital recorded and database of costs of ARI clinic between March to May 2021, which was the period that covered before and during the 3rd wave of COVID-19 outbreak in Thailand. Data was analyzed from the provider perspective by considering only the accounting cost. The results showed the total of 1,955 cases in ARI Clinic. Total direct cost was 1,136,605.48 baht, divided into Labor cost (LC) 868,417.75 baht, Material cost (MC) 257,844.87 baht and Capital cost (CC) 10,342.87 baht. Each month had different costs. It was found that in March, with only few patients, the lowest cost was 244,288.96 baht. As of May, which had the highest number of patients in the clinic, the cost was 507,549.67 baht. Unit cost was 581.38 baht per case. But considering each month, March's highest was 744.78 baht. Finally, cost recovery which refers to the ratio of accrued revenue from National Health Security Office (sample collection fee 100 baht per case) and material cost was 0.54 (0.23, 0.66 and 0.57 per month, respectively). Summarizing, the cost and cost recovery of the ARI Clinic varies from month to month. Director and Chief Financial Officer (CFO) should be aware to consider adjusting resource management for the most cost-effective.