title: Integrating quality assurance and cost accounting to facilitate management efficiency.
abstract: A medication error example illustrates how potential labor costs can be calculated, thereby allowing health care administrators to choose the intervention method with the greatest cost/benefit ratio. This method, which can help QA professionals integrate risk management, decision analysis, and utilization review activities, represents the first step in examining cost/benefit ratios with respect to improved patient-care outcomes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation, Augusta, Maine 04333.
authors.forename: C M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Bliersbach
mesh_terms: D000066:Accounting; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D004526:Efficiency; D006801:Humans; D008508:Medication Errors / Q000191:economics; D010043:Outcome and Process Assessment, Health Care / Q000191:economics*; D011785:Quality Assurance, Health Care / Q000191:economics*; D012308:Risk Management / Q000191:economics