| What Does an MRI Cost? | This is an article published in the November 2015 issue of Healthcare Financial Management. It demonstrates how activity-based costing can be used to determine the cost of an MRI, and, by extension, the cost of other procedures in a hospital.
| Download |
| Depreciation | This is a Note on Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. It discusses depreciation, but first creates the context in which depreciation can best be understood.
| Download |
| Critique of IOM Report on GME | This is a critique of the summer 2014 report prepared by the Institute ofMedicine on the subject of Graduate Medical Education. It points outseveral flaws in the report's analysis and recommendations, and suggeststhat Medicare and Medicaid support for GME may no longerbe appropriate. | Download |
| Graduate Medical Education's Tower of Babel | Discusses several cost-accounting issues related to graduate medical education: (1) the cost of a resident; (2) the economic value of a resident; and (3) the cost of educating a resident. A different accounting approach is needed to address each issue. | Download |
| Charging for ED Visits |
This article, published in the October 2017 issue of Healthcare Financial Management, discusses a potential new approach to charging for ED visits. It argues that an ED's standby (fixed) costs should be charged separately from the treatment (step and variable) costs, much as is done with public utility charges.
| Download |
| Surpluses in Nonprofit Organizations | This note describes the rationale for having a surplus (equivalent of profit) in a nonprofit organization. It provides guidance on how to calculate the appropriate size of the surplus.
| Download |
| Profit Centers in Academic Medical Centers | This article argues that departments in academic medical centers should be structured as standard expense centers rather than profit centers. | Download |