Costeo Basado en Actividades (ABC) en el Sector Salud: Validación comparativa de sus sistemas e implicaciones para la gestión operativa
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.70208/3007.8245.v6.n1.406Keywords:
activity-based costing, cancer chemotherapy, hospital cost management, managerial decision-making, sustainable development goalsAbstract
Traditional costing systems have limitations in capturing the operational heterogeneity of medical services, where clinical variability in duration, supplies, and specialized resources distorts unit costs and profitability. This problem is especially relevant in Venezuela, where the expansion of the private healthcare sector is occurring without robust financial structures. This study designed a cost management model for the chemotherapy service of a private oncology institution, comparing absorption costing and activity-based costing against the current system. Using a projective, non-experimental, field-based design, direct observation and semi-structured interviews were conducted with accounting and management staff, with analysis of the last quarter of 2023. Cost sheets were developed using the physical area as a driver of indirect costs and four specific activities for the ABC model. The results showed that the current system underestimates the actual cost by between USD 15.89 and USD 28.47 per protocol. The absorption costing method estimated a uniform unit cost of USD 99.47, while ABC generated differentiated costs and reduced reported profit, confirming it as the most accurate alternative for supporting pricing and decision-making, with implications for SDGs 3 and 17.
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