The Financial Impact of Multidisciplinary Cleft Care: An Analysis of Hospital Revenue To' Advance Program Development

摘要

The need for team-based, multidisciplinary care has been well recognized for children with a cleft lip and/or palate.1 Orofacial clefts vary -widely in their complexity, but the ma-j ority of patients require treatment and assessment in cleft surgical repair, speech, hearing, feeding and nutrition, dental and oral health, and psycho-social health. Comorbidities, such as cardiac and aerodigestive, are prevalent and often require additional expertise.2 Although the hospital provides the infrastructure for this multidisciplinary care, few studies have examined how the care of cleft patients financially impacts the hospital. Existing studies of cost have used charges in proxy for cost, have focused on comparing health care expenditures between patients with and without clefts, and have used large insurance claims databases.3-4 Both clinicians and hospital finance leaders can benefit from understanding the extent to which a cleft program generates revenue for the organization. Data on revenue generated by cleft care can support informed decisions about program support and development. Such data could also be used to potentially increase the value of care delivered, by controlling costs and/or improving outcomes.