Costs in intensive care units in four Banner Health (Phoenix) hospitals in the last half of 2007 were studied. The daily ICU direct variable cost was found to average $1,597 compared to $683 for other inpatients not in ICU. The average cost of the entire stay was $6,488 for the ICU, compared to $2,833 for other inpatients. The types of expenditures were also analyzed:
ICU spend by type
- 56.2% labor
- 15.9% pharmacy
- 8.9% respiratory therapy
- 7.3% lab/blood
The authors also analyzed the difference in cost between low-acuity, mid-acuity, and high-acuity ICU patients.
What I like about this article: It’s always interesting to see data on cost and utilization of intensive care units.
Source: Dahl, D., and others. The high cost of low-acuity ICU outliers. Journal of Healthcare Management;57(6):421-433, Nov./Dec. 2012. Click here for more information: http://www.biomedsearch.com/article/high-cost-low-acuity-ICU/311499617.html Posted by AHA Resource Center, (312) 422-2050, rc@aha.org
Filed under: Health care utilization, Health expenditures, Hospital costs, Hospital departments, Posted by Kim Garber, Special care units | Tagged: Intensive care unit costs |
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