Cost effectiveness in a supportive care unit.

Abstract

e18326 Background: Supportive care in cancer (SCC) may create a financial burden, compared to a standard cancer department. In 2011, a specific SCC inpatient unit was developed in an academic hospital, based on a multidisciplinary approach in order to anticipate patient’s disability and limit emergency hospitalization. Assess the cost effectiveness of the SCC unit expenses and benefits compared to Medical (MO) and Gastro-Intestinal (GI) oncology departments. Methods: Data were analyzed over a six year period (2011-2016). Cost of hospital stays and cost per year were calculated based on the hospital’s standard cost accounting method. Hospital benefits were calculated as the difference between total incomes and total expenses (cost and Diagnosis Related Group tariffs for the stay) and results were compared (period available for comparison 2011 to 2014). Results: Total costs for the hospital, primarily due to staff expenses, were lower for the SCC unit compared to MO and GI in 2011 and 2014, as well as the daily cost per stay (DCS). Benefit per year was also higher for the SCC unit permitting it, to benefit financially compared to the two other oncology units (Table). Incomes reimbursed by the National Health system for SCC unit were 1,632,601 euros in 2015 and 2,096,285 euros in 2016 with a total of 357 and 408 patients admitted in the 8 bed SCC unit in 2015 and 2016 respectively. Conclusions: The SCC unit was less expensive to operate compared to our other oncology units. Our results suggest that its development permitted the oncology department to enhance its quality of care without any additional expenses. [Table: see text]