Mobile Emergency Care Service: direct costs for personnel, materials, medications and solutions

To identify average direct costs of personnel, materials, medications and solutions required for pre-hospital care by the Mobile Emergency Care Service in a city in São Paulo. A bottom-up microcosting by retrospective absorption in the form of a single case study. Data were collected from a sample of 380 Systematized Care Records for 2022. Costs were obtained by multiplying the time spent per professional by direct labor unit cost, adding input costs. In Advanced Life Support teams, average direct costs for doctors and nurses were US$10.98, and for materials, medications and solutions, US$8.72, totaling US$19.70/service. In Basic Life Support teams, average direct costs for nursing technicians were US$1.11, and for materials, medications and solutions, US$2.10, totaling US$3.21/service. Mobile pre-hospital care costs can support strategic care and management decision-making, aiming at maintaining its financial and economic sustainability.