Abstract
The objective of this study is to estimate unit cost per capita of services provided at contracting unit
for primary care (CUP) network. The cost data for fiscal year 2014 were gathered from both main hospitals
and primary care units (PCUs), consisting of labour cost, material cost, and capital cost. Then, the unit cost
per capita was analysed by service types: curative, promotion and prevention, rehabilitation, and Thai
traditional and alternative medicine.
The unit cost per capita of CUPs was calculated by looking at six CUPs: two general hospitals and
four district hospitals. The results indicated that the unit cost per capita of outpatient services at the two
general hospitals were Baht 1,215 (SD=148). Adding all four service types together, the unit cost per capita
at these two general hospitals totalled Baht 1,581 (SD=184). Whereas, the average unit cost per capita of 4
district hospitals accounted for Baht 800 (SD=51). The total average cost for all services of the district
hospitals is Baht 925 (SD=60).
While, the average unit costs per capita of 10 primary care units were Baht 372, the average unit cost
of PCUs for all services is Baht 787 with the median of Baht 689. However, rehabilitation and Thai traditional
and alternative medicine services were not available in all PCUs. This is due to the fact that those
services require health professional with specific qualifications. Further studies are needed to confirm the
result of this study, which has limitation on a small number of samples.
