2006 Finalist

Design and implementation of CostPro, an activity based costing system and patient data warehouse

A New Zealand-developed system for costing health services is helping district health boards save thousands of dollars.

CostPro also provides the Ministry of Health with the data to determine accurate figures about health costs.

Costing and Business Solutions, a specialised consulting firm that develops and implements systems for health care organisations, developed CostPro.

Accurate costing is vital to the Ministry of Health, DHBs, clinicians and managers as budgets are constantly being juggled to ensure health dollars are spent wisely.

The CostPro system spans an entire organisation to provide accurate cost information of the business right down to an individual patient’s stay.

Seven DHBs have adopted CostPro over the last three years. In many cases, it has replaced an American system that was more expensive, not user friendly and slower.

Hospitals are reporting cost savings and identifying revenue opportunities of about $100,000 to $300,000 a year.

Reports are also easier to extract from CostPro and are produced in less time than under the old system.

CostPro also provides the Ministry of Health with detailed patient costing data for the determination of national prices.

Analysts use the system extensively to report on patient treatment patterns, length of stay analysis, profitability of contracts and department productivity.

Contact: Ross Wilson 021 527 007
email: ross@cbsnz.com