Análise dos custos de internações em enfermaria de psiquiatria em um hospital geral de um estado da região norte do Brasil

Abstract

Mental health is a fundamental part of healthcare for any population, and psychiatric inpatient services are a core component of the psychosocial care network, essential for the comprehensive patient care as advocated by Brazil's Unified Health System (SUS). Therefore, it is necessary to study the financial impacts of these hospitalizations to ensure the sustainability of the health system. This research aims to analyze the relationship between the costs of a psychiatric ward and the financial resources allocated to this area through federal funding. For this purpose, information was obtained from the Hospital Management System, including data on hospitalization dates, discharge dates and patient age, and these were related to the financial costs of the hospitalizations. With a descriptive and cross-sectional approach, this study was developed based on data from SOUL MV reports on hospitalizations occurring from January to December 2023. Its relevance lies in the need to assess the costs involved in these types of hospitalizations to enable adequate planning of health actions, particularly in light of the scarcity of publications on the topic. The results indicate that: (i) males account for the majority of hospitalizations; (ii) the average length of stay is 12 days; (iii) female hospitalizations have a longer duration than male hospitalizations; (iv) hospitalizations predominantly involve patients aged 20-49; (v) personnel costs constitute the majority of direct costs; (vi) the daily cost of hospitalization in a general hospital ward in the northern region is higher than the average cost of psychiatric hospitalizations in other regions; and, finally, (vii) federal funding is insufficient to cover the costs of psychiatric hospitalizations.