title: Activity-based costing methodology as tool for costing in hematopathology laboratory.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Cost analysis in laboratories represents a necessary phase in their scientific progression.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To calculate indirect cost and thus total cost per sample of various tests at Hematopathology laboratory (HPL).
  
  
  METHODS
  Activity-based costing (ABC) method is used to calculate per cost test of the hematopathology laboratory.
  
  
  METHODS
  Information is collected from registers, purchase orders, annual maintenance contracts (AMCs), payrolls, account books, hospital bills and registers along with informal interviews with hospital staff.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Cost per test decreases as total number of samples increases. Maximum annual expense at the HPL is on reagents and consumables followed by manpower. Cost per test is higher for specialized tests which interpret morphological or flow data and are done by a pathologist.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Despite several limitations and assumptions, this was an attempt to understand how the resources are consumed in a large size government-run laboratory. The rate structure needs to be revised for most of the tests, mainly for complete blood counts (CBC), bone marrow examination, coagulation tests and Immunophenotyping. This costing exercise is laboratory specific and each laboratory needs to do its own costing. Such an exercise may help a laboratory redesign its costing structure or at least understand the economics involved in the laboratory management.
authors.affiliation: Hematopathology Laboratory, Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai, India.
authors.forename: Sumeet
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gujral
authors.forename: Kanchan
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Dongre
authors.forename: Sonal
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bhindare
authors.forename: P G
authors.initials: PG
authors.lastname: Subramanian
authors.forename: Hkv
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Narayan
authors.forename: Asim
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mahajan
authors.forename: Rekha
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Batura
authors.forename: Chitra
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hingnekar
authors.forename: Meenu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Chabbria
authors.forename: C N
authors.initials: CN
authors.lastname: Nair
mesh_terms: D019411:Clinical Laboratory Techniques / Q000191:economics*; D003365:Costs and Cost Analysis / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans