Primary health-care costs associated with special health care needs up to age 7 years: Australian population-based study.
J Paediatr Child Health
; 50(10): 768-74, 2014 Oct.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-24923806
ABSTRACT
AIM:
We studied infants and children with and without special health care needs (SHCN) during the first 8 years of life to compare the (i) types and costs to the government's Medicare system of non-hospital health-care services and prescription medication in each year and (ii) cumulative costs according to persistence of SHCN.METHODS:
Data from the first two biennial waves of the nationally representative Longitudinal Study of Australian Children, comprising two independent cohorts recruited in 2004, at ages 0-1 (n = 5107) and 4-5 (n = 4983) years. Exposure condition parent-reported Children with Special Health Care Needs Screener at both waves, spanning ages 0-7 years. OUTCOMEMEASURE:
Federal Government Medicare expenditure, via data linkage to the Medicare database, on non-hospital health-care attendances and prescriptions from birth to 8 years.RESULTS:
At both waves and in both cohorts, >92% of children had complete SHCN and Medicare data. The proportion of children with SHCN increased from 6.1% at age 0-1 years to 15.0% at age 6-7 years. Their additional Medicare costs ranged from $491 per child at 6-7 years to $1202 at 0-1 year. This equates to an additional $161.8 million annual cost or 0.8% of federal funding for non-hospital-based health care. In both cohorts, costs were highest for children with persistent SHCNs.CONCLUSIONS:
SHCNs incur substantial non-hospital costs to Medicare, and no doubt other sources of care, from early childhood. This suggests that economic evaluations of early prevention and intervention services for SHCNs should consider impacts on not only the child and family but also the health-care system.Palabras clave
Texto completo:
1
Banco de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Atención Primaria de Salud
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Cuidado del Niño
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Servicios de Salud del Niño
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Medicare
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Costos de la Atención en Salud
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Niños con Discapacidad
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Necesidades y Demandas de Servicios de Salud
Tipo de estudio:
Health_economic_evaluation
/
Observational_studies
/
Prevalence_studies
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Risk_factors_studies
Límite:
Child
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Child, preschool
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Female
/
Humans
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Male
/
Newborn
País/Región como asunto:
America do norte
/
Oceania
Idioma:
En
Revista:
J Paediatr Child Health
Asunto de la revista:
PEDIATRIA
Año:
2014
Tipo del documento:
Article
País de afiliación:
Australia