The Unintended and Unexpected Impact of Downsizing

Costly Hospitals Become More Costly

Bibliographic Data

ID9102275
AuthorsMarian Shanahan (0000-0001-9873-3576, The University of Sydney, corresponding author), Marni Brownell (0000-0001-7673-4404), Marni D Brownell, Noralou P Roos (0000-0002-0802-2082)
Year1999
Volume37
IssueSUPPLEMENT
PagesJS123-JS134
Publication date1999-06-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueMedical Care (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0025-7079 • E-ISSN: 1537-1948
PublisherOvid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1097/00005650-199906001-00012
PMID10409004
OpenAlexW2314176992
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited9

OBJECTIVES: In this project we assessed the impact of 1992 budget cuts ($50 million, or approximately 7% of urban hospitals' budgets) on the relative costliness of Manitoba's hospitals. The cuts targeted the teaching hospitals, those institutions we had found to be particularly costly in a previous Manitoba Centre for Health Policy and Evaluation study. RESULTS: Unexpectedly, we found that because budget cuts were smaller proportionately than the number of beds closed, the care at the teaching hospitals (as well as at several other hospitals) became relatively more, not less, costly. Also quite contrary to public perceptions, once other expenditures such as new hospital programs and expansions were accounted for, the actual change in urban hospital expenditures over the years compared was less than 1%. CONCLUSIONS: The study highlighted the importance of monitoring program outcomes

Business · Political science · Unintended consequences · Canadian Policy and Governance · Computer Science · Global Health Care Issues · Healthcare Policy and Management · Medicine