I costi delle Terapie Intensive italiane

Abstract

In the 1995 the (GiViTI started a programme for the research about the economic features of the Intensive unit in Italy. After a preliminary check on available data, the GiViTI research considered 30 multipurpose ICUs during the period between 1996 and 1998. Every selected units received a questionnaire to fill up with information about staff, drugs and blood derivatives, other medical products, diagnostic and therapeutic services. The studied departments held on average 8 beds and their overall annual costs came to £ 3,4 billion. The single patient costs was £ 9,9 million and one day of stay in hospital amounted £ 1,3 million. These expenditures were allocated according to this percentage: 62% far the staff; 12% far drugs and blood derivatives, 12,7 for other medical products, 7% for laboratory services and 6,3% for different diagnostic and non sanitary services. Besides, the research showed the presence of scale economies production in the Italian multipurpose ICUs, even if only for the work costs. The GiViTI programme now is tackling the next phase, that studies the relations between treatment costs clinical characteristics of patients.