Cost of Producing a Medical Doctor at Chulalongkorn University

THOSPORN VIMOLKET, MD, MSc*, PIROM KAMOL-RATANAKUL, MD, MSc*, KAEMTHONG INDARA TNA, BE, PhD**

Affiliation : * Department of Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, ** Faculty of Economics, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330, Thailand.

AbstractTo illustrate the cost of producing a medical doctor through a 6-year curriculum and the ana lysis of the cost components of the Faculty of Medicine, could be used as key data for future plan ning, budgeting and preparation for the autonomous university. The cost centers were categorized to be executive, education support and education unit. The simultaneous equation method was employed to allocate all costs from other associated cost centers to the education unit. The unit cost per enrolled student was 2,161,124 baht and 8,217 Baht/Student Credit Hour (SCH), while the unit cost per graduate was 2,174,091 baht and 8,267 Baht/SCH. The labor cost accounted for 69.46 per cent, capital cost, 26.42 per cent and material cost, 4.12 per cent of the total medical doctor production cost. The three most costly departments were, : Department of Medicine (13.24%), Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology (11.73%) and Department of Paediatrics (9.87%). The cost-fee ratio (cost/fee) was 95 : 5 which suggested that medical students obtain 95 per cent subsidy from the government budget or the society. If the University becomes autonomous and less dependent on public budget, the fee may have to be adjusted higher to cover the cost. The percentage of drop out and repeat students was 0.00-0.88 per cent with a delay duration of about 6 months to one year only. The opportunity cost of six years' study for a student attending the medical school was 544,956 baht which raised the total cost per graduate to 2,719,047 baht from student/societal perspec tive.

Keywords : Unit Cost, Medical Student, Economic Cost

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