Akershus University Hospital: Driving Patient-Centered Care with Data-Driven Decision Making

The challenge

The hospital’s gastroenterologic surgery department performs more than 300 colorectal cancer surgeries per year. Doctor Geir Arne Larsen, at that time head of the department at Akershus, now the Healthcare Manager and head of the Cancer Development Program at the hospital, got inspired by the successful prehabilitation program at Maxima Medical Center in the Netherlands. He recognised an opportunity to improve patient outcomes by introducing prehabilitation measures before surgery.

However, implementing additional prehabilitation activities meant adding costs upfront, and securing approval required demonstrating the long-term benefits. While improved patient care was the primary goal, Dr Larsen understood that a compelling case had to be built with clear financial justifications.

Data-Driven Justification

The physician leveraged Process-Level Costing (PLC, known as KPP in Norway) to quantify the impact of postoperative complications across multiple departments. Through precise cost analysis, PLC highlighted:

The high incidence of major postoperative complications (20%) and their associated costs.

The financial inefficiency: treating a patient with major complications required three times the investment of standard treatment, yet reimbursements only covered 1.67 times the cost.

The potential to reduce costs after surgery by investing in prehabilitation before surgery.

Using this data, Dr Larsen successfully gained approval to implement a tailored prehabilitation program, demonstrating that adding these costs upfront could ultimately lead to better patient outcomes and lower overall treatment costs.

Our solution

Review & Customisation: The hospital studied the Maxima Medical Center model and adapted a prehabilitation protocol suited to its patient demographic, incorporating physical exercise, nutritional support and health education and empowerment support.

Implementation: The program was introduced hospital-wide, with staff receiving training to ensure effective patient support.

Outcome Tracking: PLC continued to play a key role in monitoring the program’s effectiveness in both clinical and financial terms, ensuring sustainable improvements.

Results

Significantly Improved Patient Outcomes: Postoperative major complications were reduced by half, from 20% to 10%.
Financial Viability Proven: Despite initial added costs, the program led to an overall reduction in treatment costs.
The program was temporarily halted during the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to a sharp increase in complications back to 17% before returning back to 10% after reintroduction of the program. This further validated the prehabilitation’s impact.

Key Data Point:

The hospital reduced the costs per treatment with 20,000 Norwegian Crowns, representing a 12% reduction in costs per treated patient, not taking into consideration inflation rates.

“Through precise cost data analysis, we managed to improve patient care and significantly cut down on treatment costs.”

Geir Arne Larsen

Healthcare Manager at Akershus University Hospital

Lessons Learned

Akershus University Hospital’s success demonstrates the power of clinician-led innovation supported by robust financial data. Unlike the traditional dynamic where financial departments drive cost-efficiency measures, this case showcases how a clinician’s commitment to patient care—reinforced by PLC insights—can drive both better clinical outcomes and financial sustainability. The project stands as a strong example of how strategic data utilisation can align hospital goals with optimal patient care.

Akershus University Hospital was able to determine that they were not treating these patients optimally by taking a thorough patient pathway approach to calculating the cost of the treatment. By analysing these cost data in a very precise manner and comparing them to the amount the payer would reimburse for these treatments, they noticed a discrepancy. With the LOGEX costing solution, it was easy to change the costing structure to include costs incurred by different departments of the hospital in the prehab process. This maintained a laser-sharp focus on the actual cost of treatment throughout the project and determined that the hospital reduced the costs per treatment of 20,000 Norwegian Crowns, representing a 12% reduction in costs per treated patient.

One of the patients that went through the prehabilitation programme at Akerhus University Hospital is LOGEX Norway's Country Manager Roar Brenden, who has been with the company for over 24 years. He described his experience with the programme as follows:

“I experienced the prehabilitation program at Akershus University Hospital as very important for my cancer treatment.  A comprehensive and predictable treatment plan enabled me to cope with the course of the disease in a good way. I want to highlight the interdisciplinary collaboration around me as a patient, which contributed to a better quality of life, a shorter hospital stay and a quicker return to work. I am pleased that this program is now being implemented at other hospitals in Norway so that other patients can also be given this opportunity.”

Roar Brenden

Country Manager LOGEX Norway and patient of Akerhus University Hospital