Cost-Efficiency Analysis of a Multi-Pavilion Hospital in Cluj County

BACKGROUND AND AIM Multi-hospital health systems have become the most popular administrative structure in healthcare, leading to both opportunities and challenges for hospital administrators. In government-funded healthcare systems, there is a balance between costs and the provision of health services. The aim of the present study is to assess the efficiency in terms of costs of a multi-pavilion hospital from Cluj County, Romania. METHODS The institution analyzed in this article is the Adults' Clinical Hospital in Cluj-Napoca. A descriptive retrospective study collected data from January 2004 to December 2010. A set of indicators were compiled, divided into three main categories: personnel, statistics, and financial. RESULTS Twenty-one financial indicators were investigated. Heterogeneity between different years was observed for the continuous hospitalization indicator and the wage budget indicator. The highest variability was observed between the budget and expenses indicators, while a smaller variability was observed at the average costs per patient. The costs per patient have increased at all pavilions in the studied time frame, the higher costs being at the Internal Medicine and Surgery pavilions: 10,203 RON in 2010 (1 euro ~ 4.4 RON). CONCLUSION The pavilions included in the Adults' Clinical Hospital Cluj-Napoca have different expenses patterns, as each pavilion is focused on different specialties. Each pavilion serves different target groups, requiring different procedures. This in turn results in different expense patterns across each pavilion.