Belgian Poison Centre impact on healthcare expenses of unintentional poisonings : a cost-benefit analysis
Objectives: This study evaluates the impact of the Belgian Poison Centre (BPC) on national healthcare expenses for calls from the public for unintentional poisonings. Methods: The probability of either calling the BPC, consulting a general practitioner (GP) or consulting an emergency department (ED) was examined in a telephone survey (February-March 2016). Callers were asked what they would have done in case of unavailability of the BPC. The proportion and cost for ED-ambulatory care, ED 24-h observation or hospitalisation were calculated from individual invoices. A cost-benefit analysis was p... Mehr ...
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Dokumenttyp: | journalarticle |
Erscheinungsdatum: | 2019 |
Schlagwörter: | Medicine and Health Sciences / Social Sciences / Poison control centre / Cost-benefit ratio / Unintentional poisonings / Decision tree / Healthcare expenses / Public health / HOSPITAL STAY / LENGTH |
Sprache: | Englisch |
Permalink: | https://search.fid-benelux.de/Record/base-27304490 |
Datenquelle: | BASE; Originalkatalog |
Powered By: | BASE |
Link(s) : | https://biblio.ugent.be/publication/8634634 |
Objectives: This study evaluates the impact of the Belgian Poison Centre (BPC) on national healthcare expenses for calls from the public for unintentional poisonings. Methods: The probability of either calling the BPC, consulting a general practitioner (GP) or consulting an emergency department (ED) was examined in a telephone survey (February-March 2016). Callers were asked what they would have done in case of unavailability of the BPC. The proportion and cost for ED-ambulatory care, ED 24-h observation or hospitalisation were calculated from individual invoices. A cost-benefit analysis was performed. Results: Unintentional cases (n = 485) from 1045 calls to the BPC were included. After having called the BPC, 92.1% did not seek further medical help, 4.2% consulted a GP and 3.7% went to an ED. In the absence of the BPC, 13.8% would not have sought any further help, 49.3% would have consulted a GP and 36.9% would have gone to the hospital. The cost-benefit ratio of the availability of the BPC as versus its absence was estimated at 5.70. Conclusions: Financial savings can be made if people first call the BPC for unintentional poisonings.