A Micro-costing Model of Neonatal Intensive Care from a Tertiary Indian Unit: Feasibility and Implications for Insurance.

Abstract
Objective: To calculate and compare costs of neonatal intensive care by micro-costing and gross-costing methods. Methods: The costs of resources of a tertiary care neonatal intensive care unit were estimated by the two methods to arrive at specific costs per diagnosis related categories for 33 neonates followed-up prospectively. Results: Grosscosting as compared to micro-costing resulted in higher cost per bed (Rs 6315 vs. Rs 4969) and wide variations of costs (-34.8% to +13.4%). Intensity of interventions, relative stay in neonatal intensive care unit compared to the step-down nursery, and total length of hospital admission accounted for these variations. Conclusions: Estimates based on micro-costing arrived in this study may be used as a starting point in developing assumptions for insurance models covering neonatal intensive care.
Description
Keywords
Cost, Neonatal intensive care unit, Reference unit prices
Citation
Venkatnarayan Kannan, Sankar Jeeva, Deorari Ashok, Krishnan Anand, Paul Vinod K. A Micro-costing Model of Neonatal Intensive Care from a Tertiary Indian Unit: Feasibility and Implications for Insurance. Indian Pediatrics. 2014 Mar; 51(3): 215-217.