Document Type : Original Article(s)
Authors
1 Assistant Professor, Health Services Management, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran
2 Associated Professor, Community Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran
3 MSc Student, Health Services Management, Shiraz University of Medical Science, Shiraz, Iran
Abstract
Introduction: Increasing hospital costs in recent years and also the implementation of privatization and managing the hospitals with their own private revenues, cause hospitals to confront with a lot of monetary problems. On the other hand, many resources in hospitals become useless because of the wrong and inappropriate financial management. The aim of this study was decreasing the deficits resulting from not recording these procedures in patients' medical records and also in patients' bills using a 9 step quality- improved module on hospital revenues. Methods: This wsa an interventional and longitudinal study on 350 patients' medical records in male and female internal ward in Nemazi hospital in Shiraz in early months of 2006. The randomly selected records were compared with patients' bills. Then a medical procedure form was designed and the nurses were instructed on how to fill this form and were made aware about the importance of this form. The intervention last about 4 months. After intervention in post test the impact of intervention on 215 medical records was examined. Results: In the pretes,t 56% of the costs of medical procedures have not been recorded and after intervention these lost revenues decreased to 31% and totally caused 25% increase in the revenues of this hospital. Conclusion: Nemazi hospital does not have any acceptable method for recording the medical procedures. This hospital can significantly increase its revenues, if patients' bills be compromised with their medical processes records and a correct and appropriate financial management module correctly be used. Key words: Income; Hospitals; Medical Records.
)