Cost accounting on hospitals: a case study about Setúbal's Hospital Center

• Autor(a) principal: Picoito, Célia Maria Rodrigues da Cova Gomes
• Data de Publicação: 2008
• Tipo de documento: Dissertação
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
• Texto Completo: http://hdl.handle.net/10071/1008
• topic: Cost accounting; Department aliocation costs method; Hospital costs; Decision process; Contabilidade analítica; Método das secções homogéneas; Custos hospitalares; Processo de decisão

The aim of this research was to understand how cost accounting was worked by Setúbal’s Hospital Center and how its outputs were used by physicians and management in decision processes. I reviewed international literature in order to understand what was being done in other countries and a Portuguese study regarding another hospital center. These studies referred mainly to the use of cost accounting outputs by physicians and hospital managers, and the importance of their role in the process. I did not find any article that explained how cost accounting was used by hospitais. The results of this study reveal some irregularities in the hospital’s cost accounting plan (PCAH) use. Reciprocal flows are not being considered, aliocation of amortizations and personnel costs are not based on reality. Medicines that are prescribed by hospitais and supplied by hospital pharmacy are not considered in the prescriber’s cost center. They are treated as non-imputable costs and, in 2006, represented 47% of its total. Regarding the use of cost accounting outputs to the decision-making process the main idea is that cost accounting exists to report information to the Central Administration of the Health System (ACSS). This was also the general opinion of accounting professionais interviewed in the process. Cost accounting is not used by physicians in the decision process. However they are very receptive to the idea and aware that is the only way to react in time to abnormal costs.