HOSPITAL NURSING MANAGEMENT AND CONTROL MODEL USING STANDARD COSTS AND DIAGNOSTIC RELATED GROUPS.
Contributors: Kent State University.
Published: 1986
Number of pages: 218
Subjects: Business Administration, Management.
Description: The Medicare Program with the Prospective Payment System has given hospitals the incentive to control costs by paying a set fee per Diagnostic Related Group (DRG). The Prospective Payment System has given hospitals the incentive to be low-cost producers as the low-cost producer can earn the largest profits. One method to control cost is the use of a standard cost accounting system for budgeting and control of operations.

The problems with using patient days as an output measure for hospitals resulted in the development of DRGs to measure the output of hospitals. DRGs take into account the amount of resources (nursing hours, supplies, lab test, medication, etc.) that should be consumed in treating the patient, considering the severity and complexity of the illness.

In this research project the HONUMAC Model was developed and tested. HONUMAC is a standard cost accounting model for budgeting and controlling nursing labor in hospital nursing units. The model views the hospital's nursing units as a multi-product service business which provides patient care by using multiple inputs of nursing care. Patient care is measured with DRGs and nursing care is measured with RN, LPN, Aides, etc. labor hours.

The testing of the model was an exploratory research project to discover installation problems in using the model and to demonstrate the output data from the model. The obstetrics departments in three different sized hospitals were chosen as test sites to determine if the model was equally applicable in different sized hospitals.

One discovery from testing the model was that standard times for DRGs must take into account the operating characteristics of each hospital. Standard nursing times must be based on the hospital's physical facility, the practice of medicine by physicians, and the types of patients treated on the nursing unit.

The research project demonstrated the type of data the model would provide as a budgeting system and as a management control system. The results of the research project indicated that the model functions best in an obstetrics department where standby costs were minimal. The testing of the model and interviews with hospital personnel indicated that the model can be applied in other nursing units.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 47-09, Section: A, page: 3484.

Thesis (D.B.A.)--KENT STATE UNIVERSITY, 1986.

School code: 0101.