Diet Cost of Patients in Teaching Hospital Kalubowila

Background Admissions to Tertiary care hospitals are on the rise while cost of patient care continues to increase. It has become a challenge for the sustainability of continuing free health care in developing countries like Sri Lanka. The need of costing studies is valuable in this scenario. This study analyzes diet cost for patients admitted to the Teaching Hospital Kalubowila (THK) which is a Tertiary care hospital in Colombo District, Sri Lanka. Methods This is a descriptive cross sectional study conducted retrospectively. The analysis was done using secondary data, during the period of 01.02.2014 to 28.02.2014. The cost analysis was done according to step-down method. Results Total admissions were considered and cost for the kitchen cost center (without raw material) was Rs 677,042/=. The unit cost per patient per meal was Rs.119/=. Discussion THK spends a high percentage of the operating expenses for diet. Further, out of the total hospital operating cost, two thirds were spent for salaries and wages. Suggest to introduce an awareness programme to relevant hospital staff, to highlight cost per diet per patient. This will help the staff to work with cost consciousness and consequently to improve efficiency