Activity-Based Costing of Telemedicine Services, Bankhok Hospital, Uttaradit Province

Abstract

     The survey research aimed to study the unit cost of telemedicine services and to compare the unit costs of telemedicine services with the reimbursement rate allocated by the National Health Security Office. The study used the activity-based cost analysis (ABC) of Kaplan and Cooper to estimate the unit cost of telemedicine services for outpatients with non-communicable diseases. The research tools included 1) a dictionary of telemedicine service activities, 2) a time recording form, and 3) a resource recording form. Three experts evaluated all the research tools for content validity. The data were collected by observation and recording from financial documents and analyzed using descriptive statistics.
      The results of the study showed that the unit cost of telemedicine services for a new patient was 264.37 baht per visit, and the unit cost for an old patient was 201.11 baht per visit. Compared with the reimbursement rate from the National Health Security Office of 100 baht per visit, the unit cost of telemedicine services for new patients was higher than the reimbursement rate by 64.37 baht, whereas the unit cost of telemedicine service for old patients was higher than the reimbursement rate by 101.11 baht.