| Abstract |
Gujarat Cancer Hospital (GCH) serves 165,000 OPD patients and 14,000 inpatients as well as performs more than 750,000 lab and radiology investigations annually. In order to meet its social obligations to treat all cancer patients who seek medical care from the hospital, GCRI has been providing its services at highly subsidized rates. The gap between income from patient care and the variable cost of patient care has been widening over the years; income from patient care is Rs. 4.5 crore against the variable expenses of Rs. 7 crore in 2002-03. Faced with the issue of providing services to several segments of patients who are unable to pay full price, GCH management has to determine the extent of “charity� it can provide while still continuing to run as a viable institution in the long run. This study examines the “charity� potential of GCH, and develops a model to address the social obligation for government hospitals for cancer care. |