A Comparative Study of Unit Cost and Cost per Capitation of the Network of Primary Care Units (NPCU) Between the Sub-District Health Promotion Hospitals That Are the Host and the Sub-District Health Promotion Hospitals That Are the Client Under the Public Health Office, Phatthalung Province, Fiscal Year 2024

Abstract

This research aimed to analyze and compare the unit cost and cost per capitation of network of primary care unit networks between the sub-district health promotion hospitals that are the host and the sub-district health promotion hospitals that are client. that registered networks of primary care unit according to the Primary Health Care System Act B.E. 2562 under the Phatthalung Provincial Public Health Office in fiscal year 2024. The sample consisted of 52 sub-district health promotion hospitals selected through systematic random sampling from a total of 81 sub-district health promotion hospitals. Data were collected from secondary sources in fiscal year 2024 from the perspective of the service providers, including service data from the HDC database system and financial data from the trial balance in the accrual accounting for fiscal year 2024.The results found that the sub-district health promotion hospitals that were the host had an average unit cost of 237.51 baht (S.D. = 88.09) lower than the sub-district health promotion hospitals that were client, which had an average unit cost of 314.71 baht (S.D. = 132.74). When comparing the unit cost between the sub-district health promotion hospitals that were the host and the sub-district health promotion hospitals that were the client, it was found that the unit cost of the sub-district health promotion hospitals that were the host were significantly lower than the unit cost of the sub-district health promotion hospitals that were the client at a statistical significance level of .05 (t = -2.45, p = .018), which was a result of the increased service potential by having family medicine and interdisciplinary teams to provide services, resulting in more people coming to receive services while the cost per capitation of the sub-district health promoting hospitals as the host had an average cost per capitation of 1,385.11 baht (S.D. = 564.02), the cost per capitation of the sub-district health promoting hospitals as the client had an average cost per capitation of 1,097.58 baht (S.D. = 367.45). When comparing the cost per capita between the sub-district health promoting hospitals as the host and the sub-district health promoting hospitals as the client, it was found that the cost per capita of the sub-district health promoting hospitals as the host was significantly higher than the unit cost of the sub-district health promoting hospitals as the client at a statistical level of .05 (t = 2.15, p = .03), which was a cost resulting from having a team from the hospital to support and jointly provide services. These data can be used as information for consideration in planning resource allocation to be efficient, fair and consistent with the mission of the primary care network. This will have a positive effect on the overall health development of the people in the future.