Research project PE/ES/03 (Research action PE)
The validity of the tariffication of reimbursements for medical interventions is increasingly questioned. The link between rate and cost seems less and less real. Through the analysis of the costs of categories of interventions, a (hierarchical) model will be developed, which should make it possible to adapt the tariff rates to the actual costs. In dealing with this problem, we shall notably start with a set of new legal rules, i.e. the division of the tariff into a purely intellectual fee and a "costs" part, as well as the introduction of tapering tariffs. The research will lead to proposals for putting tapering tariffication systems into practice and for developing new techniques for funding interventions, both within the hospital sphere and without. Given the broad scope of medical interventions, the research will focus first on medico-technical interventions, especially those listed under medical imaging, so as to build know-how for developing an analytical methodology applicable to the entire scope of medical interventions.
The objective is to carry out detailed cost analyses for a certain number of reference items in each group. The other items of the group will be compared with these references. By this comparative approach, it is possible to calculate the relative values of the interventions. The turnovers corresponding with the various itemized costs will be identified by means of in-depth research in the various departments and radiology and medical imaging units.
By grouping all these various data, we should be able to deduce a standardised cost function, i.e. a working tool that can be used in actual practice.
