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- 14.07.2025 - 16:52 

Advancing Hospital Costing in India: Project Visit to Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai

As part of our ongoing collaboration with the Centre for Global Development (CGD) Europe, our project team (Prof. Dr. Alexander Geissler, Dr. David Ehlig & Dr. Justus Vogel) from the Chair of Health Economics, Policy and Management at the University of St.Gallen recently visited the Tata Memorial Cancer Hospital (TMH) in Mumbai, India. The visit was part of the project “Health Benefit Packages for India – Pilot Project Breast Cancer”, which aims to support more accurate and equitable hospital reimbursement mechanisms in India.

Background of the Project

Currently, India’s Health Benefit Packages (HBF) do not sufficiently reflect the cost variation associated with different patient profiles in breast cancer treatment. For example, hospitals receive the same flat-rate payment for breast cancer patients, regardless of key cost drivers such as patient age and co-morbidities, type of surgical intervention, length of hospital stay, complexity of clinical management. This can lead to misaligned incentives and inequities in resource allocation across hospitals.

Our project supports CGD Europe in developing a cost collection and allocation framework that makes these variations visible and quantifiable. This framework may lay the foundation for more refined and cost-homogeneous payment models in India’s future health financing system.

What We Did During the Visit

Over a 3-day workshop in Mumbai, our team worked closely with TMH’s clinical, administrative, and health economics staff. Key highlights included:

  • Day 1: A full walkthrough of the breast cancer patient pathway, from admission to discharge. This included outpatient clinics, radiology, operating theaters, intensive care units, general wards, and laboratories—offering a complete view of the hospital's care delivery and resource use.
  • Days 2–3: Intensive technical workshops with TMH’s health economics team focused on:
    • Implementing standardized medical coding to distinguish cost-relevant patient groups.
    • Defining cost allocation methods for indirect costs (e.g., staff, infrastructure) across departments and patients.
    • Exploring roll-out strategies and institutionalization options with TMH leadership, CGD representatives, and other key stakeholders.

In addition to the technical sessions, we were treated to warm hospitality, including local dinners, a guided tour of Mumbai, and cultural exchanges with the TMH team.

Looking Ahead

This visit marks a major step forward in our pilot project and deepened our collaboration with TMH. The insights gained will help shape a scalable, data-informed approach to health benefit design in India—bringing patient complexity and real-world cost drivers into national reimbursement systems.

We thank the entire TMH team for their exceptional hospitality, openness, and commitment to improving cancer care in India.

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