'Irrelevant' Costs in Healthcare: A Population Study of the Treatment of Schizophrenia in the Province of Manitoba

26 Pages Posted: 17 Jan 2012

See all articles by Robert Biscontri

Robert Biscontri

University of Manitoba - Asper School of Business

Silvia Alessi-Severini

University of Manitoba - Faculty of Pharmacy

Date Written: January 15, 2012

Abstract

Accounting literature provides many examples of how it has helped healthcare decision making. There is no evidence of how healthcare has helped accounting. This is a unique study which views accounting decision making from a non-business perspective of healthcare decision making, through treatment cost interactions. Relationships between illness and non-illness related costs are viewed from a treatment perspective showing that cost interactions are more complex than would be suggested by current accounting decision making models. The result suggests that managerial decision making needs to provide flexibility to allow unique cost interactions which are expected but not quantifiable to be included in healthcare decision metrics. Both financial and non-financial information are shown to be of continued importance in decision making, but we suggest that some healthcare costs may mask themselves as indirect and irrelevant even though they are not.

Keywords: healthcare, costing

JEL Classification: I10, M40

Suggested Citation

Biscontri, Robert and Alessi-Severini, Silvia, 'Irrelevant' Costs in Healthcare: A Population Study of the Treatment of Schizophrenia in the Province of Manitoba (January 15, 2012). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1985819 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1985819

Robert Biscontri (Contact Author)

University of Manitoba - Asper School of Business ( email )

181 Freedman Crescent
Winnipeg, Manitoba R3T 5V4
Canada
+1 204 962 2901 (Phone)

Silvia Alessi-Severini

University of Manitoba - Faculty of Pharmacy ( email )

Winnipeg, Manitoba, Manitoba R3T 2N2
Canada

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Downloads
85
Abstract Views
1,041
Rank
531,415
PlumX Metrics