title: Costs of hospital services in Jordan.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Policy makers are on quest for estimates of health costs to achieve maximum efficiency and sustainability. In Jordan, there is a scarcity of information on hospital service costs.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of this study was to estimate the direct cost of hospital services in one of the biggest public hospitals in Amman, Jordan.
  
  
  METHODS
  A retrospective analysis forms a 400-bed public urban hospital. Costs were estimated in Jordanian dinars (JD) (exchange rate was US$1.41).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Inpatient costs contributed to 50% of all costs whilst outpatient clinics consumed 17%. Average cost per admission was JD 481.6 (US$674.2), JD 106.7 (US$149.3) per inpatient day and JD 63.1 (US$88.3) per bed day. The average cost per visit to emergency room was JD 14.1 s (US$19.7). Cost per visit to ambulatory care services ranged between JD 37.3 and 473 (US$52.6-662.2). The average cost per surgery was JD 322.1 (US$454.2).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  With high health costs, areas for improvements in efficiency and cost savings must be identified and discussed with managers and policy makers. A larger-scale study is advocated to understand the costs of various health providers such as military, teaching and private hospitals.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biopharmarceutics and Clinical Pharmacy, University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan.
authors.forename: Eman A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Hammad
authors.affiliation: Health Economy Directory, Jordan Ministry of Health, Amman, Jordan.
authors.forename: Taissir
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Fardous
authors.affiliation: Department of Biopharmarceutics and Clinical Pharmacy, University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan.
authors.forename: Ibrahim
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Abbadi
mesh_terms: D017721:Hospital Costs; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000191:economics; D006779:Hospitals, Public / Q000191:economics* / Q000458:organization & administration; D006801:Humans; D007597:Jordan; D010044:Outpatient Clinics, Hospital / Q000191:economics / Q000458:organization & administration; D012189:Retrospective Studies
keywords: Jordan; cost analysis; hospital costs; unit costs