Nawamin Maharachini Health Center and Tambon Health Promoting Hospital with and without Transferred to the Lamphun Province Administrative Organization in Fiscal Year 2023

Abstract

This retrospective study aimed to compare the total cost and cost per unit of health service provision between Nawamintharachini Health Stations and Tambon Health Promoting Hospitals (THPHs) in Lamphun Province, with and without transfer to the Provincial administrative organization. The analysis focuses on accounting costs from the perspective of the service providers for the fiscal year 2023.The purposive sampling method was used to select 12 locations, comprising 6 Nawamintharachini Health Stations and THPHs that were transferred, and 6 that were not. All cost data were collected, including labor costs, material costs, and equipment costs, using data recording forms, along with data from actual operations. The data were presented as cost amounts and percentages. The research results were as follows.

1. The total cost for the group of transferred THPHs was 27,717,405.88 baht, with 58.58% being direct costs and 41.42% being indirect costs. For the group of non-transferred THPHs, the total cost was 22,742,020.87 baht, with 61.46% being direct costs and 38.54% being indirect costs. The proportion of labor costs, material costs, and equipment costs for the transferred THPHs was 77.66%, 15.66%, and 6.68%, respectively. For the non-transferred THPHs, the proportions were 78.04%, 15.99%, and 5.97%, respectively, with labor costs being the highest in both groups.

2. The unit costs for medical activities performed by doctors and non-doctors between the transferred and non-transferred THPHs did not differ significantly. The median unit costs for the transferred THPHs were 117.19 and 115.22 baht, respectively; while for the non-transferred THPHs, the median unit costs were 109.49 and 86.46 baht, respectively. This trend was similar for other health promotion activities, except for the promotion of maternal health, where the median unit cost was higher for the transferred THPHs compared to the non-transferred ones.

Knowing the costs of providing health services is beneficial for resource management and can be used as basic information for making informed decisions regarding appropriate budget allocation to service units.