Costs to the Medicare Benefits Schedule for general practitioner consultations: A time-series analysis.
J Telemed Telecare
; 28(10): 726-732, 2022 Dec.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-36346935
ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic was a catalyst for the introduction of additional telehealth funding (telehealth item numbers) for general practitioner (GP) consultations through the Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) in Australia. This study evaluated the impact of telehealth funding on costs to the MBS for GP consultations from January 2017 to December 2021. An interrupted time series analysis assessed MBS costs (initial and monthly growth) for GP consultations (in-person, videoconference, telephone) before and after additional telehealth item numbers were introduced. From January 2017 to February 2020, total MBS costs for GP consultations were, on average, $545 million per month compared to $592 million per month from March 2020 to December 2021. There was an initial cost increase of approximately $39 million in the first month after additional telehealth funding was introduced (p = 0.0001). Afterwards, there was no significant change in monthly costs (p = 0.539). The introduction of additional MBS telehealth funding increased overall MBS costs for GP consultations. This increased cost for GP telehealth services could save costs to society if it translates into improved continuity of care, decreased hospitalisations, reduced productivity losses and improved patient outcomes. Future policy reform should incorporate a cost-benefit analysis to determine if increased MBS costs for GP consultations are a good investment.
Palavras-chave
Texto completo:
1
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Telemedicina
/
Clínicos Gerais
/
COVID-19
Tipo de estudo:
Health_economic_evaluation
Limite:
Aged
/
Humans
Idioma:
En
Revista:
J Telemed Telecare
Assunto da revista:
INFORMATICA MEDICA
/
SERVICOS DE SAUDE
Ano de publicação:
2022
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de afiliação:
Austrália