Linking Cost Control to Cost Management in Healthcare Services: An Analysis of Three Case Studies

The issue of healthcare costs has become increasingly problematic over the years. This chapter summarizes the problems faced by hospitals when measuring the costs of healthcare treatments, explaining how an Activity Based Costing (ABC) framework can be successfully adopted in healthcare settings. After describing the theoretical foundations of cost control and cost management, the chapter continues with the analysis of three real-life applications of ABC in a hospital, drawn from the process analysis and activity-based costing experience developed at the Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria (AOU – University Hospital) “Ospedali Riuniti” (Joint Hospitals) of Trieste, Italy. In particular, the cases are about cost measurement in cardiology, odontostomatology, and radiology, and describe the technical solutions applied for computing the costs of selected therapeutic and diagnostic treatments. A particular emphasis is placed on how these measures have been subsequently used by hospital managers and medical personnel in order to gain insights and to improve the efficiency of the processes developed within the organization.