scholarly journals Time-driven activity-based costing of total knee replacements in Karachi, Pakistan

BMJ Open ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. e025258
Author(s):  
Rabia Mansoor Khan ◽  
Katherine Albutt ◽  
Muhammad Abdullah Qureshi ◽  
Zara Ansari ◽  
Gustaf Drevin ◽  
...  

IntroductionOsteoarthritis of the knee has been identified as the most common disability in Pakistan. Total knee replacement (TKR) surgery is the curative treatment for advanced osteoarthritis of the knee; however, cost remains one of the barriers to effective and timely service delivery.ObjectiveWe conducted a time-driven activity-based costing (TDABC) analysis of TKR to identify major cost drivers and areas for process improvement.Methods and analysisWe performed a prospective TDABC analysis of patients who underwent bilateral TKR at The Indus Hospital (TIH) during a 14-month period from October 2015 to December 2016. Detailed process maps were developed for each phase of the care cycle. Time durations and costs were allocated to each resource utilised and aggregated across the care cycle, including personnel, direct and indirect costs.ResultsWe identified seven care phases for a complete TKR care cycle and created their detailed process maps. Major time contributors were ward stay and discharge (20 160 min), TKR surgery (563 min) and surgical admission (333 min). Overall, 92.10% of time is spent during the ward stay and discharge phase of care. Patients remain hospitalised for an average of 14 days postoperatively. Overall institutional cost of a TKR at TIH was US$4360.51 (Pakistani rupees 456 981.17) per bilateral TKR surgery. The overall primary cost drivers for the full bundle of care were consumables used during TKR surgery itself, consumables utilised in the wards and personnel costs contributing 57.64%, 27.45% and 12.03% of total costs, respectively.ConclusionUtilising TDABC allowed us to obtain a granular analysis of time and cost that was subsequently used to inform quality process improvement initiatives. In low-resource settings, such as Pakistan, TDABC has the potential to be a useful tool to guide resource allocation and process improvement.

2016 ◽  
Vol 34 (7_suppl) ◽  
pp. 22-22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pamela T. Soliman ◽  
Elizabeth A. Garcia ◽  
Kai E. Lang ◽  
Valerie Villanueva ◽  
Shannon Neville Westin ◽  
...  

22 Background: Current changes in health care economics have led to a focus on value-based health care. TDABC is a systematic method to assess personnel utilization and the associated cost in the delivery of medical care. Based on baseline process maps and cost estimates in our outpatient center, cancer surveillance visits (CSV) were identified as inefficient, lengthy and high cost. The purpose of this study was to determine if reallocation of personnel was feasible, resulted in decrease cost and better value care. Methods: In 2014, a multidisciplinary team developed process maps for each visit type in the outpatient center. Maps included each step of clinical care from registration to check out and the personnel associated with that care. Total personnel costs were based on the estimated time spent with each patient and the average salary of the care provider. In 9/2014, we instituted an advanced practice provider (APP) independent practice initiative where CSV were done by either faculty or APP, no longer both. Billing codes were used to determine the % of CSV seen by APPs only. Patient and staff satisfaction were assessed pre- and post-implementation with validated measures. Results: At baseline, the estimated patient time and personnel cost for a CSV was 98 min and $380.79. The estimated patient time and personnel cost for an APP only CSV was 53 min and $132.60.; resulting in a potential savings of $249/CSV. Prior to 9/14 less than 21% were seen by APP’s only. After implementation of the initiative, the number of APP only visits increased each quarter to Q1 27%, Q2 38%, Q3 40% and Q4 41%. The estimated cost savings based on 4000 CSV/year was $354,000. Patient satisfaction remained the same (Press-Ganey). APP and physician engagement/satisfaction increased by 30% (Gallup Employee Survey). Conclusions: Evaluation of our outpatient clinic using TDABC allowed us to identify low efficiency, high cost processes. After implementation of a new process, patient wait times and personnel costs were significantly reduced resulting in better value care and improved provider satisfaction.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathia Dubron ◽  
Mathilde Verschaeve ◽  
Filip Roodhooft

Abstract Background Recently, time-driven activity-based costing (TDABC) is put forward as an alternative, more accurate costing method to calculate the cost of a medical treatment because it allows the assignment of costs directly to patients. The objective of this paper is the application of a time-driven activity-based method in order to estimate the cost of childbirth at a maternal department. Moreover, this study shows how this costing method can be used to outline how childbirth costs vary according to considered patient and disease characteristics. Through the use of process mapping, TDABC allows to exactly identify which activities and corresponding resources are impacted by these characteristics, leading to a more detailed understanding of childbirth cost. Methods A prospective cohort study design is performed in a maternity department. Process maps were developed for two types of childbirth, vaginal delivery (VD) and caesarean section (CS). Costs were obtained from the financial department and capacity cost rates were calculated accordingly. Results Overall, the cost of childbirth equals €1894,12 and is mainly driven by personnel costs (89,0%). Monitoring after birth is the most expensive activity on the pathway, costing €1149,70. Significant cost variations between type of delivery were found, with VD costing €1808,66 compared to €2463,98 for a CS. Prolonged clinical visit (+ 33,3 min) and monitoring (+ 775,2 min) in CS were the main contributors to this cost difference. Within each delivery type, age, parity, number of gestation weeks and education attainment were found to drive cost variations. In particular, for VD an age >  25 years, nulliparous, gestation weeks > 40 weeks and higher education attainment were associated with higher costs. Similar results were found within CS for age, parity and number of gestation weeks. Conclusions TDABC is a valuable approach to measure and understand the variability in costs of childbirth and its associated drivers over the full care cycle. Accordingly, these findings can inform health care providers, managers and regulators on process improvements and cost containment initiatives.


2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. e271-e279 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Boyce-Fappiano ◽  
Matthew S. Ning ◽  
Nikhil G. Thaker ◽  
Todd A. Pezzi ◽  
Olsi Gjyshi ◽  
...  

PURPOSE: Several treatment options for spinal metastases exist, including multiple radiation therapy (RT) techniques: three-dimensional (3D) conventional RT (3D-RT), intensity-modulated RT (IMRT), and spine stereotactic radiosurgery (SSRS). Although data exist regarding reimbursement differences across regimens, differences in provider care delivery costs have yet to be evaluated. We quantified institutional costs associated with RT for spinal metastases, using a time-driven activity-based costing model. METHODS: Comparisons were made between (1) 10-fraction 3D-RT to 30 Gy, (2) 10-fraction IMRT to 30 Gy, (3) 3-fraction SSRS (SSRS-3) to 27 Gy, and (4) single-fraction SSRS (SSRS-1) to 18 Gy. Process maps were developed from consultation through follow-up 30 days post-treatment. Process times were determined through panel interviews, and personnel costs were extracted from institutional salary data. The capacity cost rate was determined for each resource, then multiplied by activity time to calculate costs, which were summed to determine total cost. RESULTS: Full-cycle costs of SSRS-1 were 17% lower and 17% higher compared with IMRT and 3D-RT, respectively. Full-cycle costs for SSRS-3 were only 1% greater than 10-fraction IMRT. Technical costs for IMRT were 50% and 77% more than SSRS-3 and SSRS-1. In contrast, personnel costs were 3% and 28% higher for SSRS-1 than IMRT and 3D-RT, respectively ( P < .001). CONCLUSIONS: Resource utilization varies significantly among treatment options. By quantifying provider care delivery costs, this analysis supports the institutional resource efficiency of SSRS-1. Incorporating clinical outcomes with such resource and cost data will provide additional insight into the highest value modalities and may inform alternative payment models, operational workflows, and institutional resource allocation.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathia Dubron ◽  
Mathilde Verschaeve ◽  
Filip Roodhooft

Abstract Background Recently, time-driven activity-based costing (TDABC) is put forward as an alternative, more accurate costing method to calculate the cost of a medical treatment because it allows the assignment of costs directly to patients. The objective of this paper is to demonstrate how the overall cost of childbirth at the maternity department can be calculated by implementing a TDABC analysis. In addition, this study outlines how this costing method can be utilized to provide insights into how patient and disease characteristics drive variability within childbirth cost. Through the use of process mapping, TDABC allows to exactly identify which activities and corresponding resources are impacted by these characteristics, leading to a more detailed understanding of childbirth cost.Methods Process maps were developed for two types of childbirth, vaginal delivery (VD) and caesarean section (CS). Costs were obtained from the financial department and capacity cost rates were calculated accordingly. Results Overall, the cost of childbirth equals €1894,12 and is mainly driven by personnel costs (89,0%). Monitoring after birth is the most expensive activity on the pathway, costing €1149,70. Significant cost variations between type of delivery were found, with VD costing €1808,66 compared to €2463,98 for a CS. Prolonged clinical visit (+33,3 min) and monitoring (+775,2 min) in CS were the main contributors to this cost difference. Within each delivery type, age, parity, number of gestation weeks and education attainment were found to drive cost variations. In particular, for VD an age >25 years, nulliparous, gestation weeks > 40 weeks and higher education attainment were associated with higher costs. Similar results were found within CS for age, parity and number of gestation weeks.Conclusions TDABC is a valuable approach to measure and understand the variability in costs of childbirth and its associated drivers over the full care cycle. Accordingly, these findings can inform health care providers, managers and regulators on process improvements and cost containment initiatives.


2006 ◽  
Vol 45 (04) ◽  
pp. 462-469 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Toyabe ◽  
S. Kurashima ◽  
M. Okada ◽  
K. Akazawa ◽  
P. Cao

Summary Objectives: Activity-based costing (ABC) is widely used to precisely allocate indirect costs to medical services. In the ABC method, the indirect cost is divided among the medical services in proportion to the volume of “cost drivers”, for example, labor hours and the number of hours of surgery. However, the workload of data collection of cost drivers can be time-consuming and a considerable burden if there are many cost drivers. The authors aim to develop a method for objectively reducing the cost drivers used in the ABC method. Methods: In the ABC method, the cost driver is assigned for each activity. We assume that these activities and cost drivers are the best combination. Our method, that is cost driver reduction (CDR), can objectively select surrogates of the cost drivers for each activity in ABC from candidate cost drivers. Concretely, the total indirect cost of an activity is temporarily allocated to the medical services using each candidate of cost drivers. The difference between the costs calculated by each candidate and the proper cost driver used in ABC is calculated to evaluate the similarity by the evaluation function. Results: We estimated the cost of laboratory tests using our method and revealed that the number of cost drivers could be reduced from seven in the ABC to four. Similarly, the results of cost estimation obtained by our method were as accurate as those calculated using the ABC. Conclusions: Our method provides two advantages compared to the ABC method: 1) it provides results that are as accurate as those of the ABC method, and 2) it is simpler to perform complicated estimation of hospital costs.


2021 ◽  
pp. 219256822110091
Author(s):  
Raymond W. Hwang ◽  
Samuel W. Golenbock ◽  
David H. Kim

Study Design: Retrospective cohort. Objectives: Allocating cost is challenging with traditional hospital accounting. Time-driven activity-based costing (TDABC) is an efficient method to accurately assign cost. We sought to characterize the variation in direct total hospital cost (THC) among both lumbar fusion approaches and surgeons. Methods: Patients were treated with single-level anterior interbody (ALIF), lateral interbody (LLIF), transforaminal interbody (TLIF), instrumented posterolateral (PLF) or in-situ fusion (ISF) for degenerative disease. Process maps were developed for preoperative, intraoperative and postoperative care. THC was composed of implant, medication, other supply, and personnel costs. Linear regression and descriptive statistics were used to analyze THC variation. Results: A total of 696 patients underwent surgery by 8 surgeons. Approximately 50% of THC variation was associated with procedure choice while patient characteristics explained 10%. Implants (including biologics) accounted for 45% of cost. With reference to PLF, THC ranged from 0.6x (ISF) to 1.7x (LLIF). Implant cost ranged from 2.5x reference (LLIF) to 0.1x (ISF). There was a 1.7x difference between the highest THC surgeon and the lowest. The fusion type with the highest THC variation was TLIF. The surgeon with the highest TLIF THC was 1.5x more expensive than the surgeon with the lowest. Conclusions: Surgeon-based choices have the greatest effect on THC variation and represent the largest opportunities for cost savings. Primary single-level lumbar fusion THC is driven primarily by fusion type. Implants, including biologics, account for nearly half this cost. Future work should incorporate outcomes data to characterize the differential value conferred by higher THC fusions.


2020 ◽  
Vol 79 (Suppl 1) ◽  
pp. 807.3-807
Author(s):  
I. Moriyama

Background:No widely accepted view or criteria currently exist concerning whether or not patellar replacement (resurfacing) should accompany total knee arthroplasty for osteoarthritis of the knee.1)2)3)Objectives:We recently devised our own criteria for application of patellar replacement and performed selective patellar replacement in accordance with this set of criteria. The clinical outcome was analyzed.Methods:The study involved 1150 knees on which total knee arthroplasty was performed between 2005 and 2019 because of osteoarthritis of the knee. The mean age at operation was 73, and the mean postoperative follow-up period was 91 months. Our criteria for application of patellar replacement are given below. Criterion A pertains to evaluation of preoperative clinical symptoms related to the patellofemoral joint: (a) interview regarding presence/absence of pain around the patella, (b) cracking or pain heard or felt when standing up from a low chair, (c) pain when going upstairs/downstairs. Because it is difficult for individual patients to identify the origin of pain (patellofemoral joint or femorotibial joint), the examiner advised each patient about the location of the patellofemoral joint when checking for these symptoms. Criterion B pertains to intense narrowing or disappearance of the patellofemoral joint space on preoperative X-ray of the knee. Criterion C pertains to the intraoperatively assessed extent of patellar cartilage degeneration corresponding to class 4 of the Outerbridge classification. Patellar replacement was applied to cases satisfying at least one of these sets of criteria (A-a,-b,-c, B and C). Postoperatively, pain of the patellofemoral joint was evaluated again at the time of the last observation, using Criterion A-a,-b,-c.Results:Patellar replacement was applied to 110 knees in accordance with the criteria mentioned above. There were 82 knees satisfying at least one of the Criterion sets A-a,-b,-c, 39 knees satisfying Criterion B and 70 knees satisfying Criterion C. (Some knees satisfied 2 or 3 of Criteria A, B and C).When the pain originating from patellofemoral joint (Criterion A) was clinically assessed at the time of last observation, pain was not seen in any knee of the replacement group and the non-replacement group.Conclusion:Whether or not patellar replacement is needed should be determined on the basis of the symptoms or findings related to the patellofemoral joint, and we see no necessity of patellar replacement in cases free of such symptoms/findings. When surgery was performed in accordance with the criteria on patellar replacement as devised by us, the clinical outcome of the operated patellofemoral joint was favorable, although the follow-up period was not long. Although further follow-up is needed, the results obtained indicate that selective patellar replacement yields favorable outcome if applied to cases judged indicated with appropriate criteria.References:[1]The Effect of Surgeon Preference for Selective Patellar Resurfacing on Revision Risk in Total Knee Replacement: An Instrumental Variable Analysis of 136,116 Procedures from the Australian Orthopaedic Association National Joint Replacement Registry.Vertullo CJ, Graves SE, Cuthbert AR, Lewis PL J Bone Joint Surg Am. 2019 Jul 17;101(14):1261-1270[2]Resurfaced versus Non-Resurfaced Patella in Total Knee Arthroplasty.Allen W1, Eichinger J, Friedman R. Indian J Orthop. 2018 Jul-Aug;52(4):393-398.[3]Is Selectively Not Resurfacing the Patella an Acceptable Practice in Primary Total Knee Arthroplasty?Maradit-Kremers H, Haque OJ, Kremers WK, Berry DJ, Lewallen DG, Trousdale RT, Sierra RJ. J Arthroplasty. 2017 Apr;32(4):1143-1147.Disclosure of Interests:None declared


2021 ◽  
Vol 156 ◽  
pp. 106874 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Nečas ◽  
Martin Vrbka ◽  
Max Marian ◽  
Benedict Rothammer ◽  
Stephan Tremmel ◽  
...  

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document