[Economic cost of care at the Dysplasia Clinic of Colima].
OBJECTIVE
We studied 1,755 patients in dysplasia clinic in Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social in Colima city in 2000, to know the economic cost of their attention.


METHODS
Descriptive, quantitative study, for the identification and description of the instruments and human resources needed in each intervention. We estimated the fixed cost and the variable cost to determinate unitary cost. We made comparative cost analysis for diagnoses, treatment, and for sick evolution and we estimated the proportion of the total economic resources devoted to attention in this service.


RESULTS
We found variation in unitary cost. The median cost was $227.67 pesos for each intervention. Colposcopy has the lower cost with $134.25, the upper cost was the treatment for vaginal infection $372.15, followed for the diatermic therapy $354.40. p = 0.2. The patients with advanced stage needed more large and expensive treatment. The proportion of the total economics resources devoted for the dysplasia clinic was 0.25%.


CONCLUSIONS
All dysplasia clinic: 1. Should know the real unitary cost for every action done. And incorporate it to the planning of the economic resources. 2. Should have an automatic system for estimation of cost in order to know the unitary cost for each action.
Núñez Navarro
Carlos
C
Unidad de Investigación Epidemiológica y en Servicios de Salud, del IMSS, Cuauhtémoc, Colima.
Molina Padilla
Jorge
J
Canales Muñoz
J L
JL
D017281:Cost of Illness; D005260:Female; D006761:Hospitals; D006801:Humans; D008800:Mexico; D002578:Uterine Cervical Dysplasia / Q000191:economics*