[Medico-economic analysis of a neurosurgery department at a university hospital]

Abstract

Objective: Economic and societal constraints require to take into account the economic dimension and medical performance of hospital departments. We carried out a self-assessment study, which we thought could be useful to share with the neurosurgical community.

Material and methods: Care and research activities were assessed from 2009 to 2013. We used institutional and assessment-body parameters in order to describe activities and perform a financial evaluation. It was a retrospective descriptive study based on the guidelines of the DHOS/O4 circular No. 2007/390 of October 29, 2007.

Results: The average annual, analytic income statement was +1.39 millions euros, for 63 beds with a 92% occupancy rate, including 6.7 full-time equivalent neurosurgeons (and assistants), for 2553 patients and 1975 surgeries. The average mortality rate was 2.74%. The annual mean length of stay was 6.82 days. Per year, on average 15.6% of patients were admitted in emergency and 76.9% returned home. The annual, act-related-pricing and publication-related incomes represented 77% and 0.6%, respectively of the total funding. Difficulties to find downstream beds for the most severe patients induced 1401 "waiting days" in 2012.

Conclusion: Medico-economic analysis of a neurosurgery department at a university hospital was useful in order to take into account the care, teaching and research activities, as well as its related financial value.

Keywords: Assessment; Care; Economy; Neurochirurgie; Neurosurgery; Performance; Recherche; Research; Soin; Économie; Évaluation.