title: The cost of intensive and special care of the newborn.
abstract: The cost of providing intensive (level-3) and special (level-2) care for newborn infants in a tertiary perinatal service was determined prospectively and was expressed in 1984 Australian dollars. Direct costs that were expressed per occupied bed-day were $690 for level-3, high-dependency care; $421 for level-3, low-dependency care; $544 for over-all level-3 care; $242 for level-2, high-dependency care; $170 for level-2, low-dependency care; and $201 for over-all level-2 care. Each level of care generated additional costs of $42 per occupied bed-day. Taking these additional costs into account, the over-all occupied bed-day cost of level-3 and level-2 neonatal care was $339. The major components of this over-all cost were: nursing staff members, 50%; medical staff members, 11%; consumable and recyclable items, 12%; and diagnostic services, 8%.
authors.affiliation: Flinders Medical Centre, Bedford Park, SA.
authors.forename: P B
authors.initials: PB
authors.lastname: Marshall
authors.forename: H J
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Halls
authors.forename: S L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: James
authors.forename: A R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Grivell
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Goldstein
authors.forename: M N
authors.initials: MN
authors.lastname: Berry
mesh_terms: D001315:Australia; D001509:Bed Occupancy; D003365:Costs and Cost Analysis; D003954:Diagnostic Services / Q000191:economics; D004865:Equipment and Supplies, Hospital / Q000191:economics; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007363:Intensive Care Units, Neonatal / Q000191:economics*; D008505:Medical Staff, Hospital / Q000191:economics; D009741:Nursing Staff, Hospital / Q000191:economics; D011446:Prospective Studies