Journal of

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Background: Regarding to the escalating costs of health care and limited resources in this field, the appropriate identification and control of costs is inevitable. This Study aimed to determine the unit cost of radiology services, in selected hospitals of TUMS.
Materials & Methods: This was a descriptive retrospective study. At first, we selected two hospitals (Shariati and Sina) out of general - teaching hospitals of TUMS randomly. After gathering data, using activity based costing method, the unit costs of radiography services in these centers in 1389 fiscal year (2010-2011) were calculated.
Results: The unit costs of radiography services in Shariati and Sina hospitals were 251255,5 and 334996,2 respectively. Building rent and human resources costs included the most share of total costs.
Conclusion: The unit cost of radiography services in this study is very different comparing with other studies. Calculated building rent costs in this study could be one of the possible reasons of this difference (other studies did not consider this costs). The other point is that, regarding the high share of human resources and building costs from total costs, special attention to these sources of costs and appropriate and adequate use of them, can be an important step toward improving the efficiency and cost savings in our national health system.

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Background: Today using contrast media in order to diagnose different tissues in radiology section has found a vast range of applications. Thus application of safe procedures and protocols in usage of contrast media to prevent dangerous reactions seems to be of great necessity. That is why in this study we aimed to evaluate the safety of intravenous administration of contrast media in the radiology sections of medical-educational Centers of Urmia. Materials & Methods: This is a descriptive and cross sectional study. Data were gathered using questionnaires derived from articles and international standard guidelines such as (ESURE, RCR) in three areas including: drugs, protocols and facilities. Results: Results indicated that the level of compliance with safety protocols, facilities and drugs were 91.3% and 69.4% and 100% respectively. The average safety observance was 80.9% totally. The results showed that there were some deficiencies in some equipment such as pulse Oximeter and ECG. Moreover, it was found that a unique protocol is not used in all surveyed sections. Conclusion: Regarding the importance of this issue it is necessary to publish and implement a unique protocol for contrast media administrating and to provide all required equipment for improving patient safety process. Meanwhile a wide supervision should have been done by related authorities in or out of the organization.

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Background: Regarding to the importance of controlling health care expenditure, necessity for proper distribution of health care resources and appropriate utilization of hospital resources through inappropriate services reduction for patients, this study aimed to assess suitability of brain CT scans, based on American College of Radiologists (ACR) appropriateness criteria in Shahid Beheshti Hospital affiliated to Kashan University of Medical Sciences (KAUMS).

Materials and Methods: This cross sectional and retrospective study was conducted in internal and surgery triage unites of an academic hospital in KAUMS to determine the appropriateness of brain CT scans. A General physician reviewed 361 medical records of patients through the check list based on ACR appropriateness criteria. Collected data was classified in three areas including appropriate, possibly appropriate and inappropriate. Data was analyzed using SPSS through descriptive statistics such as Index of dispersion  and chi-square test.

Results: Study findings revealed that among delivered CT scans, 310 (85.9%) appropriate, 38(10.5%) possibly appropriate and 13(3.6%) were inappropriate. The maximum and the minimum inappropriate brain CT scans rate 4 (4.17 %) were related to patients with Ataxia and zero (0 %) were related to patients with Headache, respectively.

Conclusion: Based on ACR appropriateness criteria, Brain CT scans were not utilized appropriately. In order to depict utilization review of radiology procedure in Iran, Developing a national guideline is necessary. To detect the effective factors regarding formulating targeted intervention, more comprehensive studies in various hospitals, different specialty and radiology modality seems necessary. 

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Background: Calculating the cost of services enables the existing resources to be used in the most efficient and effective way possible. Time- Driven Activity Based Costing is a method that, in addition to costing, also calculates the efficiency and unused capacity of resources. The purpose of this study was to use this method to calculate the costs of radiology and CT scans services in two hospitals.
 
Materials & Methods: The present cross-sectional and retrospective research was done in a descriptive-analytic manner in two hospitals affiliated to Isfahan University of Medical Sciences in 2018. Data were collected in designed Excel forms, and costs of services were calculated using Time- Driven Activity-Based Costing (TDABC) method.
 
 Results: The cost of most radiology services and total CT scan services in the government sector was more than that of the private sector. The unused capacity of resources in the public sector was more than private sector. The time spent for providing the services in the two hospitals was the same except for the technician's career. The average cost of radiology services was 223324 in hospital (A), and 194094 Rials in hospital (B). The average cost of the CT scan services was 600522 in hospital (A), and 485230 Rials in hospital (B).
 
Conclusion: According to the findings of the study, the need for human resources management to reduce unused capacity and increase efficiency, as well as improving service delivery processes in order to reduce the time required to provide services seems necessary. Replacing low-cost resources is another solution that is effective in reducing costs. The standards of the most efficient centers of health services are often worth the benchmarking.

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Background: Activity-Based Costing Analyzes the Activities Performed in the Service Delivery Process and Accurately Identifies Costs to Improve The Performance and Efficiency of The Delivery Units and Calculates the Cost of Each Activity by Identifying Services and Activities. The Purpose of This Study Was to Calculate the Cost of Radiology Services Based on Activity Based Costing Method In Firooz Abadi Hospital.
 
Materials and Methods: This is a descriptive retrospective study conducted in 2018. Data were collected through interview with Hospital officials, direct observation and from existing documents in hospital. Data entry was done through Excel software and analyzed Based on activity-based costing system in eight steps.
 
Results: Based on the Findings of this Study, Four Types of Imaging Services Were Commonly Found In Firooz Abadi Hospital. From Total Radiology Costs, 79.3% Were Estimated to Be Related to Direct Costs and 20.7% to Indirect Costs. Finally, the Cost Per CT Scan Service Was 725,133 Rials, Mammography 608,054 Rials, Radiology 809,165 Rials and Ultrasound Service 512,692 Rials.
 
Conclusion: Results of the Study Indicated that Direct Costs accounted for most Costs in Radiology Unit, So Improving Performance and Policies in Health System, Particularly in Human Resource Management, Service Consumption Standardization and Staff Training Suggested to Cost Reduction.