RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 The economics of specialist and general practitioner maternity units
JF The Journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners
JO J R Coll Gen Pract
FD British Journal of General Practice
SP 586
OP 592
VO 31
IS 231
A1 A. M. Gray
A1 R. Steele
YR 1981
UL http://bjgp.org/content/31/231/586.abstract
AB The roles of general practitioner and specialist maternity units are increasingly being debated with reference to resources and the need for savings in the NHS. Unfortunately, many of the economic issues involved are frequently misunderstood. On the basis of a study of maternity care in one Health Board area in Scotland, we present an example of the type of economic data which are needed to make policy decisions on resource allocation in hospital maternity care. Differences between the two unit types are presented in terms of their unit costs, their cost structures and their inpatient cost profiles.