Comparison of Total Cost of Health Services among Asthmatic and COPD Patients in Uni-Speciality Hospital with General Hospital

Based on econometric studies conducted worldwide and in Iran, one of the methods by which the efficiency and effectiveness of an organization is evaluated, is by cost-control methods and economical analyses of therapeutic activities that must be carried out routinely and periodically. It seems that services offered in uni-speciality hospitals are cheaper than general hospitals. This study aims to propose a model by which the provided services can be expanded in a specific field of treatment. Also this study was conducted to analyse and compare the costs of asthma and COPD in two general and uni-speciality hospitals in order to determine the total services costs of these two diseases. This cross-sectional retrospective experimental study calculated hospital costs and analysed the data in forms and tables designed especially for this purpose.Also data in regard to capital, current and overhead costs were collected. After calculation, the mean of total costs in both diseases was assessed. In this study, econometric analyses of asthma and COPD demonstrated that the health services cost of asthma in a general hospital was 1.19 times greater than that of a uni-speciality hospital, while the services cost of COPD in a general hospital was 1.36 times that of uni-speciality hospital. The difference in costs includes duration of hospitalization, cost of paraclinical and diagnostic tests, counselling, medical equipments, and overhead costs. As it is observed all over the world, health care personnel pay less attention to the costs of medical equipment and are less aware of the economical aspect of health care services,. Without considering the costs, physicians are always after new equipment. Having knowledge about the costs is not only essential for hospital administrators but also for all medical personnel, since with more cost reduction, a greater number of people can enjoy medical services. (Tanaffos 2006; 5(3): 45-49)