4. The benefits of TDABC: some management
implications
The TDABC system provided accurate and relevant information
to both healthcare managers and physicians which
assisted them in operational improvements (Section 4.1),
making a profitability analysis per department (Section
4.2), deciding on future investments (Section 4.3).
4.1. Operational improvements
The TDABC approach, with its time equations, offers
some specific advantages, as these equations create more
cost transparency than a conventional cost-accounting
system or a traditional ABC system. As the time equations
clearly show which activities demand more time,
healthcare managers may get an idea of which activities
lead to higher costs. Consequently, a TDABC model offers
operational insights concerning activities and their added
value. This way, the outpatient clinic’s management could
take appropriate actions to lower the time required to
handle some actions, especially in the more demanding
departments like Gastroenterology and Urology. An
internal benchmark exercise (which became possible
due to the TDABC information) also introduced an open
communication between the department heads and
managers concerning possible operational improvements.
For example, when looking at the different standard times,
healthcare managers were surprised that the standard
times for classification were twice as high at the Gastroenterology
and Urology departments in comparison with the
other departments. The main reason for this was that the
latter made use of a centralized secretariat with an internal
rotation system for secretaries. This system allowed