Comparative Costs of a Cooperative Care Program versus Inpatient Hospital Care for Obstetric Patients

The cost of obstetric care delivered in a cooperative care unit was compared with the cost for similar patients treated in a traditional inpatient maternity unit. The study sample contained 1,683 consecutive patients representing 23 diagnosis categories. The analysis indicates that cooperative care...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Medical care 1988-06, Vol.26 (6), p.596-606
Main Authors: Woods, John R., Saywell, Robert M., Benson, J. Thomas
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Biological and medical sciences
Cesarean Section - economics
Cooperatives
Cost allocation
Cost savings
Costs and Cost Analysis
Delivery, Obstetric
Direct service costs
Female
Health care costs
Hospital costs
Hospital units
Hospital Units - economics
Hospitalization - economics
Humans
Indiana
Length of Stay
Maternal Health Services - economics
Medical sciences
Miscellaneous
Obstetrics
Pregnancy
Public health. Hygiene
Public health. Hygiene-occupational medicine
Self-Care Units - economics
Surgical procedures
Unit costs
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Summary:The cost of obstetric care delivered in a cooperative care unit was compared with the cost for similar patients treated in a traditional inpatient maternity unit. The study sample contained 1,683 consecutive patients representing 23 diagnosis categories. The analysis indicates that cooperative care patients had significantly lower total hospital costs. This cost savings persisted even when we controlled for case severity. The only exception was for the obstetric patient requiring intra-abdominal surgery. For fiscal year 1986, hospital cost savings for the 576 patients who used the cooperative care unit was $80,640 or approximately $105,000 in total patient charges. The majority of the savings came from a reduction in routine nursing services that are directly attributable to the cooperative care unit. We conclude that cooperative care can be an economically feasible alternative for most obstetric patients.
ISSN:0025-7079
1537-1948
DOI:10.1097/00005650-198806000-00008