Okuzeka
Healthcare Management vocabulary · Budgets and Finance

Break even

Meaning in healthcare management, with examples

phrasal verbCommon term

In healthcare management, break even means: To earn exactly enough income to cover costs, so that there is neither a profit nor a loss.

In Turkish: başa baş gelmek, giderleri karşılamak, başa baş noktasına ulaşmak

How it is used

Common in business cases: 'The new clinic will break even in its third year.' The noun and adjective form is 'break-even', as in break-even point and break-even analysis. Public hospitals often aim to break even rather than to make a profit.

Example sentences

  1. The sleep clinic needs about 25 patients a week to break even.

  2. We expect the new day surgery unit to break even within two years.

Common collocations

  • break even within a year
  • break-even point
  • break-even analysis
  • barely break even
  • revenueThe total money a hospital receives for its services, such as payments from insurers, public funds and patients, before any costs are taken away.
  • operating costsThe everyday costs of running a hospital or service, such as salaries, medicines, supplies, energy and maintenance, not including large investments.
  • overheadRunning costs that support the whole organisation rather than one service, such as administration, IT, finance, buildings and utilities.
  • budgetA plan that sets out how much money a hospital or department expects to receive and spend over a period, usually a financial year.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Budgets and Finance

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This page explains English vocabulary for learners. It is not medical advice.