Cost factor "outpatient wound care" in the emergency department Cost-revenue deficit of outpatient wound treatment in a German university hospital

Background In addition to highly specialized medicine, the initial treatment of wounds and minor surgical interventions are generally necessary basic services of emergency care in hospitals. The reimbursement of outpatient emergency services for persons with statutory insurance is currently based on the uniform assessment standard (EBM), where the recording of business expenses in the private practice sector serves as the basis for the calculation. Hospitals have considerably higher maintenance costs than medical practices. Objective In this article the resulting cost-revenue ratio of outpatient wound care in an emergency department is analyzed through the reimbursement according to EBM. Material and methods The data were collected in the emergency surgical department of the University Hospital Frankfurt am Main over 12 months. Included were all patients who received sutured wound care during this period. The costs incurred were compared to the remuneration according to EBM 01210 (or 01212) with the additional flat rate for small surgical procedures EBM 02301. Results During the observation period 1548 patients were treated, i.e. 19.52% of all trauma surgery cases. The resulting costs of a standard wound care of 45.40euro are offset by a remuneration of 31.83 euro. The calculation of the total revenue shows a deficit amount of 13.57 euro per outpatient case, this corresponds to an annual deficit of 21,006.36 euro. Conclusion It could be shown that even without consideration of the relevant holding costs, cost coverage cannot be achieved in any case. The previous reimbursement of outpatient wound care on the basis of the EBM appears to be inadequate. In the future, an adjustment or supplementary remuneration seems to be necessary in order to ensure sufficient quality of care.