Prozesskostenrechnung in einem Krankenhaus

Hospitals are compelled to adopt the DRG system, introduced in 2003, for transparent and economical service delivery while ensuring treatment quality. The DRG system is a performance-oriented reimbursement model with standardized flat rates, which intensifies competition among hospitals. Economic success is primarily managed through costs, as the number of patients and types of illnesses are only limitedly controllable by the hospitals. For this reason, patient treatments and the resulting costs are gaining increased attention. It is essential for hospitals to acquire sufficient knowledge about treatment processes and their cost implications. This presents an opportunity for process management to implement necessary optimizations for underperforming services and to uncover cost reduction potentials through length-of-stay reductions. Process cost accounting is an appropriate method to meet these new requirements, as it combines process representation with cost calculation.