Are general practitioner hospitals cost-saving? Evidence from a rural area of Norway
Autor: | Ivar Sønbø Kristiansen, Ivar J. Aaraas, H Søråsdekkan |
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Rok vydání: | 1998 |
Předmět: |
Adult
Male Patient throughput medicine.medical_specialty Hospitals Rural Hospitals General Patient Transport Cost Savings Health care medicine Humans General hospital Hospital Costs health care economics and organizations Operating cost Aged Primary Health Care business.industry Norway Middle Aged Cost savings Cross-Sectional Studies Family medicine Health Care Surveys Costs and Cost Analysis Female Rural area business Nursing homes Family Practice |
Zdroj: | Family practice. 14(5) |
ISSN: | 0263-2136 |
Popis: | OBJECTIVE We aimed to determine whether general practitioner GP hospitals, compared with alternative modes of health care, are cost-saving. METHODS Based on a study of admissions (n = 415) to fifteen GP hospitals in the Finnmark county of Norway during 8 weeks in 1992, a full 1-year patient throughput in GP hospitals was estimated. The alternative modes of care (general hospital, nursing home or home care) were based on assessments by the GPs handling the individual patients. The funds transferred to finance GP hospitals were taken as the cost of GP hospitals, while the cost of alternative care was based on municipality and hospital accounts, and standard charges for patient transport. RESULTS The estimated total annual operating cost of GP hospitals was 32.2 million NOK (10 NOK = 1 Pound) while the cost of alternative care was in total 35.9 million NOK. Sensitivity analyses, under a range of assumptions, indicate that GP care in hospitals incurs the lowest costs to society. CONCLUSION GP hospitals are likely to provide health care at lower costs than alternative modes of care. |
Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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