title: [The balance between quality and resources in health care organizations: study on a hospital cleaning service managed in outsourcing].
abstract: The study analyses the performances of a hospital cleaning service managed in outsourcing with respect to the balance between available resources and expected quality standards. Data were referred to a high specialization hospital and were collected through a multiple approach (interviews, cost analysis, performance simulations and field investigations). A difference (48%) emerged between expected and observed standards. In order to quantify the estimated gap, two models were examined with respect to personnel costs (euro 7.09/hr for NHS personnel and euro 4.5/hr for private personnel). Additional resources needed to achieve required standards resulted respectively 182% and 115% of the invested budget. This result stresses the importance to define the minimum standard to be guaranteed for safe and clean environment in health care organizations and the break-even point between quality and costs, leaving the single institutions the decision about additional quality level and resources needed for it.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Patologia e Medicina Sperimentale e Clinica, Università degli Studi di Udine. s.brusaferro@med.uniud.it
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Brusaferro
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Toscani
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Fiappo
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Quattrin
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Majori
mesh_terms: D006797:Housekeeping, Hospital / Q000592:standards*; D020416:Outsourced Services / Q000592:standards*; D011786:Quality Control