Diet Cost of Inward Patient during Economic Downturn at Secondary Care Base Hospital in Sri Lanka

Introduction: Health services are provided at free of charge in Sri Lankan government hospitals which is one of the greater challenge for the sustainability to continue free health care services due to the current economic crisis. It is essential to perform cost analysis in evaluating the efficiency of providing healthcare services in the basis of free of charge. Objective: This study analyzes unit diet cost for inward patient in Base Hospital Akkaraipattu which is secondary care hospital and situated in South East of Ampara district in Sri Lanka. Methods: This is retrospective descriptive cross sectional study. Secondary data were used to calculate the unit diet cost for the month of May 2022. Step down cost accounting method and MS Excel was used to calculate the unit cost of meal. Result: The total cost of kitchen cost center was Rs.496, 329.02 and unit diet cost was Rs.120.98. Conclusion: Expenses for raw materials (Rs.929, 806.22) was higher in May 2022, as economic crisis. This study suggested conducting an awareness programme to highlight how much it costs per meal per patient to the hospital staffs.