Abstract
BackgroundPublic providers in Jordan are facing increasing health demands due to human crises. This study aimed to benchmark the unit costs of hospital services in public providers in Jordan to provide insights into the outlook for public health care costs.MethodsThe unit costs of hospital services per admission, inpatient days, outpatient visits, emergency visits and surgical operations were estimated using the standard average costing method (top-down) for the fiscal year 2018–2019. The unit costs per inpatient day were estimated for nine specialities and staff in Jordanian dinars (exchange rate JOD 1 = USD 1.41).ResultsThe average unit cost per admission in Jordan was JOD 782.300 (USD 1101.80), the per inpatient day cost was JOD 236.600 (USD 333.20), the per bed day cost was JOD 172.900 (USD 244.90), the per outpatient visit cost was JOD 58.400 (USD 82.30), the per operation cost was JOD 449.600 (USD 633.20) and the per emergency room visit cost was JOD 31.800 (USD 44.80). The specialities of ICU/CCU and OB/GYN presented the highest unit costs per inpatient day across providers: JOD 377.800 (USD 532.90) and JOD 362.600 (USD 510.70), respectively. The average salaried unit cost of staff depended mainly on year of employment. Nonetheless, the unit costs varied depending on the service utilization, type of service and organizational outlet.ConclusionsKnowledge of how unit costs vary across public providers in Jordan is essential to outline cost control strategies and inform future research. Institutionalization of the cost information system and high-level governmental support are necessary to generate a routine practice of collecting and sharing cost information.
Highlights
Public providers in Jordan are facing increasing health demands due to human crises
The health services of the Ministry of Health (MOH) are provided through the civil insurance programme (CIP), which is funded mainly (77.5%) by the Government of Jordan, the Ministry of Finance and Planning and the Ministry of Social Development, and sourced mostly from tax revenues [3]
Access to the public services of the MOH is extended to vulnerable Jordanians, and the following groups are exempt from user fees at MOH facilities: children aged under six, individuals classified as poor, individuals living in areas classified as “less fortunate” or remote, blood donors and families of which one member is an organ donor
Summary
Public providers in Jordan are facing increasing health demands due to human crises. This study aimed to benchmark the unit costs of hospital services in public providers in Jordan to provide insights into the outlook for public health care costs. The total pharmaceutical expenditure accounts for 2.88% of the GDP and about 25.9% of the total health expenditure These levels of expenditure are considerably high in comparison with those of countries in the surrounding region and with a similar economic status [3,4,5]. Universal health coverage has been a strategic goal of the Government of Jordan for over three decades [6]. It strives to provide financial protection against illness or injury and access to quality health care for all residents. Jordan’s MOH provides health care services for approximately 60% of Jordanians, including public sector employees and their dependents. Substantial resources are allocated to achieving universal health coverage goals, namely health service access and financial protection [8]
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