Calculating the Total Cost of Services at One Health Center Before and After Assignment (2014-2016)

Background and Purpose: Accurate calculating and evaluating of cost of services would result in clarity on the ways to achieve the desired goals in outsourcing of health centers and health comprehensive centers. The present study was carried out to calculate the total cost of services at one health center before and after assignment to private sector (2014-2016) in Iran. Methods: This research was a descriptive-applied type of study conducted by using cross-sectional method, and based on the data collected from Yazd Abad health center in 2014-2016 and its affiliated and non-affiliated bases. The collected data were analyzed by developed forms, interview, and observation, based on the activity-based costing system. Excel Software was then used to analyze the collected data. Results: The total number of services in nine sub-branches at the target health center was 783231 before assignment and 793589 after assignment. Sum of other costs was 446112820 Rials before assignment and 615112820 after assignment. The mean cost of a one-minute service at the Health Center was 90749 before assignment and 96295 after assignment. Among the nine branches, the highest cost service before and after assignment was related to school health branch and the lowest cost was related to oral health services branch. Discussion: Total cost of each service provided a clear picture of the way of spending the costs in the process of production and providing health services. The research findings suggest that the total cost of services increased after assignment, while this increase was not significant, since the increase in total cost of services might be due to an increase in wages or a non-significant increase in providing the services after assignment. Thus, more studies are needed to assess the effectiveness of comprehensive health centers after assignment to the private sector.   Key words: Health evolution; Cost of services; Outsourcing; Health centers