Prospective Assessment of Out-of-Pocket Patient-Related Cost for ERCP at an Urban Tertiary Care Medical Center
- نوع فایل : کتاب
- زبان : انگلیسی
- مؤلف : C. Mel Wilcox Roshan Patel Chad Burski Shyam Varadarajulu Meredith Kilgore
- چاپ و سال / کشور: 2011
Description
Background When calculating differences between interventions, direct cost comparisons are typically based on Medicare reimbursement rates. The additional out-of-pocket costs of the patient have been little studied in endoscopy. Aim To determine out-of-pocket costs for patients undergoing ERCP. Methods Between June and August 2009, all outpatients referred to our tertiary care university hospital for elective ERCP were prospectively interviewed regarding outof- pocket costs for procedures. Patients were asked regarding any costs to undergo the procedure including copay, driving, parking, meals, child care or equivalent, and any additional expenses related to subsequent procedures or admissions related to the ERCP. Results Over the study period, 94 outpatients (mean age 57 ± 16 years, 48% male) underwent ERCP. Mean/ median out-of-pocket costs for the procedure were $177.97/ 72.54 and ranged from $0 to $2,033.54. The largest single expense for the procedure was related to copayment (median $75). Eleven patients required hospitalization for post-procedural complications resulting in additional median out-of-pocket costs of $25. Median hotel, food, and travel expenses were $171.00, $20.00, and $23.54, respectively. Conclusions Out-of-pocket ERCP costs are not insignificant from the patient’s perspective and should be added to the direct costs to calculate true procedure costs
Dig Dis Sci DOI 10.1007/s10620-011-1843-3 Received: 3 June 2011 / Accepted: 19 July 2011
