title: Measuring the profitability of a hospital pulmonary function laboratory: a case study.
abstract: The primary purpose of this article is to evaluate a proposal for a regional hospital to create a second Pulmonary Function Test laboratory (PFT lab) for outpatients. We separated the PFT lab from its departmental budget, thereby allowing a unique determination of the lab's profitability. The lab's separate financial analysis helped us to gain an understanding of the revenues and expenses of the PFT lab, providing information needed to comment on the proposed second lab. Additionally, we recommend a means for maintaining separate control over the PFT lab's revenues and costs and ascertain the efficacy of instituting a separate budget for the PFT lab.
authors.affiliation: College of Business, University of Southern Indiana, Evansville, Indiana, USA. mkocakul@usi.edu
authors.forename: Mehmet C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Kocakülâh
authors.forename: Jan Taylor
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Morris
authors.forename: Brian
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Kessler
mesh_terms: D003365:Costs and Cost Analysis; D042241:Early Diagnosis; D006801:Humans; D019982:Organizational Case Studies; D010044:Outpatient Clinics, Hospital / Q000191:economics* / Q000458:organization & administration; D029424:Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000191:economics*; D012129:Respiratory Function Tests / Q000191:economics*; D012720:Severity of Illness Index