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Show big cost item Allen Memorial Hospital this week took delivery on a highly expensive piece of accounting equipment equip-ment that will make revolutionary changes in the efficiency and record-keeping ability of the county-operated county-operated institution. The purchase came after several years of study by members of the Grand County Hospital Board and the County Commission, after'it became apparent that the hospital could not possibly initiate cost-saving practices in administration as advocated by many, and provide the detailed record-keeping required by federal and state statutes dealing with medical care. The machine, according to a report by an administrative efficiency consulting firm, should enable the institution to operate its administrative office with at least one less person. The Utopian idea, we suppose, would be that expensive equipment should be amortized completely by reductions in labor. We doubt very much that this will be the case in Moab, nor do we feel that this should be much of a factor under discussion at this point. Allen Memorial Hospital is one of the most modern medical facilities in the State of Utah. Equipment quality, design and attractiveness, and the , quality of medical care in Grand County have rarely been questioned since the hospital was completed some sixteen years ago. Administratively, however, the hospital has frequently been under criticism, particularly from the standpoint of num- ' bers of personnel required to do the job, and inadequacy in-adequacy of administrative data, particularly in the area of patient billings. It makes good sense at this time to move the administrative facet of the institution to the same level of quality as those other very important areas of hospital operation. Although the cost was high, the results should given time be worth it. And if a portion of that cost can be written off in reduced labor expenses over the years, so much the better. |