Wordcloud. (2018). 123RF.

As a manager/staff nurse of a rural Emergency Department I find myself between a rock and a hard place frequently. As a nurse my first obligation is to my patient. My patients receive the level of care they expect, and I stand by their decisions because sometimes we are their only advocate within the healthcare team. As a manger my focus is on admissions, income, revenue, patient satisfaction and so forth. This is where cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA) comes into play. According to the World Health Organization 2018 CEA focuses on finding an intervention the provides the outcome expected for the least amount of monies. Whereas Penner 2013 places more of a focus on comparing and contrasting two or more alternative programs and/or interventions to determine cost verse benefit outcome.

Penner 2013 believe by calculating cost per unit of effectiveness (CE) cost can be minimized by choosing the cheapest intervention for the desired achievement or outcome.To determine the CE value, one would take the cost and divide by the effectiveness (Penner,2013). The question at hand is cost decreased by comparing and contrasting two or more alternatives that all produce the desired outcome. A good example would be to compare three different methods to achieving  infection free laparoscopic Cholecystectomies and the costs associated with each. Once cheapest method determined the sound financial choice would be to go with that option. It is a win-win. The patient is provided with optimal patient care, while the organizational cost is minimized for care being provided.

References

Penner, S. J. (2013). Economics and financial management for nurses and nurse leaders, 2nd ed. New York, NY: Springer Publishing Company, LLC.

World Health Organization. (2018). Cost-effectiveness analysis for health interventions. Health and Environment Linkages Initiative. Retrieved from http://www.who.int/heli/economics/costeffanalysis/en/