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Improving healthcare performance through Activity‐Based Costing and Time‐Driven Activity‐Based Costing

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  • Angels Niñerola
  • Ana‐Beatriz Hernández‐Lara
  • Maria‐Victòria Sánchez‐Rebull

Abstract

Improving healthcare performance has become a need for resource optimisation in a field where they are scarce. Activity‐Based Costing (ABC) has been applied for more than 30 years to allocate costs and provide information for decision‐making. This paper seeks to review previous literature in the health field that analysed this cost system and its new version, TDABC (Time‐Driven Activity‐Based Costing). Five hundred ninety articles published from 1989 to 2019 were retrieved from Scopus and Medline. The review includes descriptive, relational and content analyses. Results show that the interest in applying these cost systems is growing, especially in journals focusing on the financial aspects of health, policy and planning, and radiology. However, there is a difference in the application of ABC and TDABC. ABC is more related to efficiency and more used in laboratories. In contrast, TDABC is primarily used in hospitals and addressing the value of health rather than cost‐effectiveness. On the other hand, the findings suggest that TDABC present greater opportunities for publication compared with ABC. Its progression is higher and gets more citations. The current article contributes to broadening the field's vision and encourages authors for further research.

Suggested Citation

  • Angels Niñerola & Ana‐Beatriz Hernández‐Lara & Maria‐Victòria Sánchez‐Rebull, 2021. "Improving healthcare performance through Activity‐Based Costing and Time‐Driven Activity‐Based Costing," International Journal of Health Planning and Management, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(6), pages 2079-2093, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:ijhplm:v:36:y:2021:i:6:p:2079-2093
    DOI: 10.1002/hpm.3304
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Mahmoud Nassar & Husam Aldeen Al‐Khadash & Alan Sangster & Osama Mah’d, 2013. "Factors that catalyse, facilitate and motivate the decision to implement activity‐based costing in Jordanian industrial companies," Journal of Applied Accounting Research, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 14(1), pages 18-36, May.
    2. Ifeyinwa Maria-Juliet Orji & Olusegun Akanbi & Sun Wei, 2015. "Cost modelling in healthcare systems: a case of radiology department of a teaching hospital," International Journal of Industrial and Systems Engineering, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 19(1), pages 50-74.
    3. Josephine C. Jacobs & Paul G. Barnett, 2017. "Emergent Challenges in Determining Costs for Economic Evaluations," PharmacoEconomics, Springer, vol. 35(2), pages 129-139, February.
    4. Anton Sorin Gabriel, 2013. "Technical Efficiency in the Use of Health Care Resources: A Cross-Country Analysis," Scientific Annals of Economics and Business, Sciendo, vol. 60(1), pages 1-12, July.
    5. Keel, George & Savage, Carl & Rafiq, Muhammad & Mazzocato, Pamela, 2017. "Time-driven activity-based costing in health care: A systematic review of the literature," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 121(7), pages 755-763.
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