Cost--benefit analysis of team supervision: the development of an innovative model and its application as a case study in one Finnish university hospital.
OBJECTIVE
To develop a model of costs and benefits of team supervision and a formula, which are examined more closely by means of an example.


BACKGROUND
The popularity of clinical supervision (CS) as one of the methods of supporting health care practitioners' professional development (formative function), coping (restorative function) and quality improvement (normative function) has increased in the 1990s. CS may take the form of one-to-one or group supervision. Team supervision is a special form of group supervision. It means a group that has an interrelated work life outside the group. A host of literature and articles is available on CS. However, the costs and benefits of CS are less examined even though these have given rise to discussion particularly among decision-makers, because the monetary benefit of CS remains unsolved.


METHODS
A nominal group technique was used to develop a model of costs and benefits of team supervision and a formula was derived on the basis of the model. The existing statistical data, for example a hospital ward's annual reports, data on sick days and reports on indemnities were utilized in the application of the formula.


CONCLUSIONS
Team supervision was efficient in economic terms on the example ward. The model and the formula constitute a first attempt to ascertain the net present benefit of team supervision. Both the model and the formula need to be further tested, specified and refined.
Hyrkäs
K
K
Researcher, Doctoral Student, Department of Nursing Science, University of Tampere, Tampere, Finland. nueihy@uta.fi
Lehti
K
K
Paunonen-Ilmonen
M
M
D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D005387:Finland; D017721:Hospital Costs; D006757:Hospital Units / Q000191:economics / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006785:Hospitals, University / Q000458:organization & administration; D006801:Humans; D016294:Models, Nursing; D017146:Models, Organizational; D015401:Nursing Administration Research; D009745:Nursing, Supervisory / Q000191:economics*; D009746:Nursing, Team / Q000191:economics*; D019982:Organizational Case Studies