How consultants used the LOGEX Costing solution to help Wirral University Teaching Hospital identify high-cost areas to focus on for maximum impact
About the collaboration
Wirral University Teaching Hospital (WUTH) is a National Health Service (NHS) Foundation Trust in North West England, providing a wide range of medical services, primarily to the population of the Wirral. It has a headcount of 6474 staff and £436 million in income. It is accountable to the population of Wirral, its patients and their families through its council of governors.
The challenge
Wirral University Teaching Hospital is required to meet increased targets for elective activity but will only be paid part of the usual per-patient tariff for activity in excess of the plan in a challenging financial environment. They wanted to understand the financial implications of increasing elective activity and also the effect of patients staying over 30 days in the hospital, but the limitations of their existing information were preventing them.
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The LOGEX team helped my team to understand the financial implications of two important cohorts of patients. First, the cost of patients staying in hospital over 30 days and the marginal cost of elective activity over and above our plan. This is crucial to our planning given new rules in place over income. They also helped us to understand which treatments are more or less expensive for WUTH than other hospitals.
Robbie Chapman, Deputy Chief Financial Officer, Wirral University Teaching Hospital (WUTH)
The solution
WUTH Deputy Director of Finance Robbie Chapman wanted to use the data to help solve the pressing challenges described above. Therefore we have implemented the LOGEX Costing solution and are in the process of implementing the LOGEX Budgeting solution.
Our consultants have also added value to the project by using their skills and understanding of the NHS to turn the data into clear and practical insights. This was done by:
- Calculating the marginal cost of bed days over 30 days length of stay and discovering the key specialties.
- Calculating the marginal cost of treating more patients in potential growth HRGs, with different costs for treating different numbers of extra patients to adjust for step costs. Also, analysing whether WUTH is particularly expensive or cheap for these cohorts.
- Listing the most and least expensive HRGs and groups of HRGs compared to the national average.
At LOGEX, we understand that getting a grip on your data and performance should be a rewarding endeavour. Our models give you clarity and control over your operational and financial performance. Clarifying costs and optimising processes will be easier than ever!
The impact
- WUTH now has confidence that they can afford to treat additional planned patients even though they will not be paid the full price.
- WUTH now understands the financial benefits that will occur if they reduce the number of bed days used by patients staying for more than 30 days and knows which specialties to focus on to achieve this.
- WUTH now knows which cohorts of patients are the most and least expensive compared to the national average. They can now focus on these to potentially achieve maximum benefits in improving patient care and hospital finances.
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