A burn center cost-reduction program.

A concerted effort to decrease resource usage and length of stay without sacrificing quality of care was undertaken over a 2-year period in a high-census Burn Center. Through a series of changes in practice, substantial decreases in the costs of several high-usage items were tracked. During this period the average length of stay also was decreased. The average hospital charge decreased from $46,628 per patient in fiscal year 1993 to $33,159 per patient in fiscal year 1994. During this period there was no significant change in the patient population as measured by total body surface area percentage burn and acuity level. With the exception of significant improvement in the infection rate, there was no substantial change in indicators of quality care as measured by readmission, morbidity, and posthospital would healing progression. This cost-reduction program showed that costs can be reduced without diminishing quality of care; in some respects quality of care improved due to the practice changes that were implemented.