Variable cost of a Greek ICU

The ICU consumes almost 20% of total hospital resources, despite accounting for less than 10% of hospital beds. Medical cost can be divided into a fixed part, consisting of personnel and accommodation expenses, and a variable part, determined by the needs of each patient (medications, consumables, examinations). In order to rationalize medical cost, estimation of expenses must be real and individualized. The aim of this study was to assess the variable cost of critically ill patients in a new, seven-bed, adult, general ICU, using bottom-up costing methodology.