Trends in the Cost of Medicines, Consultation Fees and Clinic Visits in Malaysia's Private Primary Healthcare System: Employer Health Insurance Coverage.

Objective: To examine trends in the cost of medicines, consultation fees and clinic visits among the employees covered by the employer health insurance in Malaysia's private primary healthcare system in Malaysia. Designs: Retrospective cross-sectional study. Setting: PMCare claims database from January 2016 to August 2019. Participants: A total of 83,556 outpatient clinic visits involving 10,150 IIUM employees of the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) to private general practitioners (GPs). During the study period, IIUM adopts the incentive structure of capping coverage at Ringgit Malaysia (RM) 45/outpatient visit (USD 10.58) to cover for consultation fees and medicine costs. Main Outcome Measures: The monthly percentage change in the number of clinic visits, medicine costs, consultation fees and total costs between January 2016 and August 2019. A simple linear regression using Stata v15.1 was also performed to measure the association between the characteristics of the prescribed medicines and medicine charges. Results: The number of clinic visits per patient increased by 17% from January 2016 to August 2019, with consultation fees increasing by 113.9% and total costs by 7.9% per clinic visit per patient. Conversely, the cost of medicines and the number of medicines prescribed per clinic visit per patient decreased by 39.7% and 6.3%, respectively. Conclusion: Within the incentive structure of capping the total amount of coverage per clinic visit, medicine costs were reduced by decreasing the number of medicines prescribed, to offset the increased consultation fees. This may create perverse incentives that affect medicine use with negative consequences for the health system and health insurers.

Real world data study of prevalence and direct costs related to dengue management in Brazil's private healthcare from 2015 to 2020.

BACKGROUND: The burden of dengue in Brazil is poorly documented and is based on data from the public health care setting. This study estimated the prevalence and costs of dengue management in the private health care system in Brazil from 2015 to 2020 using a large claims database from Orizon. METHODS: We selected claims with dengue ICD codes (ICD-10 A90 or A91) from January 2015 to December 2020. Prevalence was estimated based on the population enrolled in health insurance plans in the given year. Costs were adjusted for the inflation up to December 2021 and evaluated by measures of central tendency and dispersion. RESULTS: A total of 63,882 unique beneficiaries were included, with a total of 64,186 dengue cases. The year with the highest prevalence was 2015 (1.6% of patients who used health plans), and there was also an increase in cases in 2016 and 2019. The median cost per hospitalization in 2015 was US$486.17, and in 2020, it reached US$696.72. The median cost of a case seen at an emergency room ranged from US$ 97.78 in 2015 to US$ 118.16 in 2017. CONCLUSIONS: The estimated prevalence of dengue in this population of private health-insured patients followed the epidemiological trends of the general population in Brazil, with the highest rates in 2015, 2016, and 2019. The cost of dengue management has increased in the private health care setting over the years.

Real world data study of prevalence and direct costs related to dengue management in Brazil's private healthcare from 2015 to 2020

ABSTRACT Background: The burden of dengue in Brazil is poorly documented and is based on data from the public health care setting. This study estimated the prevalence and costs of dengue management in the private health care system in Brazil from 2015 to 2020 using a large claims database from Orizon. Methods: We selected claims with dengue ICD codes (ICD-10 A90 or A91) from January 2015 to December 2020. Prevalence was estimated based on the population enrolled in health insurance plans in the given year. Costs were adjusted for the inflation up to December 2021 and evaluated by measures of central tendency and dispersion. Results: A total of 63,882 unique beneficiaries were included, with a total of 64,186 dengue cases. The year with the highest prevalence was 2015 (1.6% of patients who used health plans), and there was also an increase in cases in 2016 and 2019. The median cost per hospitalization in 2015 was US$486.17, and in 2020, it reached US$696.72. The median cost of a case seen at an emergency room ranged from US$ 97.78 in 2015 to US$ 118.16 in 2017. Conclusions: The estimated prevalence of dengue in this population of private health-insured patients followed the epidemiological trends of the general population in Brazil, with the highest rates in 2015, 2016, and 2019. The cost of dengue management has increased in the private health care setting over the years.

Custo de tratamento do câncer de próstata resistente à castração por meio da aplicação da técnica Delphi no Sistema de Saúde Suplementar brasileiro / Cost of treating castration-resistant prostate cancer by applying the Delphi method to the Brazilian Private Healthcare System

Objetivo: Estimar os custos do tratamento de pacientes com câncer de próstata não metastático resistente à castração (nmCRPC) e metastático resistente à castração (mCRPC) no Sistema de Saúde Suplementar brasileiro. Métodos: Foi realizada uma busca na literatura para avaliar os dados já disponíveis do custo do tratamento do câncer de próstata no Brasil. Como os dados são escassos, optou-se por utilizar a técnica Delphi com seis médicos oncologistas para levantamento do uso dos recursos. O painel Delphi contou com três etapas, sendo duas on-line e uma presencial, abordando recursos, frequência e porcentagem de uso de exames de imagem e laboratoriais, e dados hospitalares (consultas, pronto-socorro, internações ­ clínica, cirúrgica e em unidade de terapia intensiva). Também foram solicitados dados de padrões de tratamento do câncer de próstata. Por fim, dados do manejo das metástases foram requeridos. Por meio das informações coletadas, foi desenvolvido o microcusteio do câncer de próstata resistente à castração na perspectiva do Sistema de Saúde Suplementar. Resultados: O custo total de tratamento da jornada do paciente com câncer de próstata resistente à castração foi igual a 480.497,25 BRL, e o tratamento unicamente da doença não metastática foi de 189.832,79 BRL e o da doença metastática, de 290.664,46 BRL. Conclusão: Os custos do tratamento de câncer de próstata metastático são substancialmente superiores aos custos do tratamento do paciente não metastático resistente à castração de alto risco, o que parece justificar economicamente o uso de medidas que previnam ou adiem o surgimento de metástases.

Objective: To estimate the treatment costs for patients with non-metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (nmCRPC) and metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) within the Brazilian private healthcare system. Methods: A literature search was performed to obtain currently available data on prostate cancer treatment costs in Brazil. As national data are scarce, a Delphi method with a specialist board was chosen with six oncologists for resource estimations. The Delphi panel had three steps: two online and one in-person, addressing what resources, frequencies, and percentages of use of imaging and laboratory exams, hospital data (including medical appointments, emergency room, hospitalizations - clinical, surgical and Intensive Care Unit). Data on prostate cancer treatment patterns were also requested. Finally, metastasis management data was required. Using the collected data, we developed a micro-costing model of castration-resistant prostate cancer in Brazil. Results: The total cost for the entire castration-resistant prostate cancer patient journey was 480.497,25 BRL, with the non-metastatic disease alone costing 189.832,79 BRL and the metastatic disease costing 290.664,46 BRL. Conclusion: The costs of treating metastatic prostate cancer are substantially higher than the treatment of high-risk castration-resistant non-metastatic patients, which seems to economically justify the use of measures that prevent or postpone metastasis.

Difference in patient outcomes coming from public and private hospitals in an intensive care unit in Brazil.

BACKGROUND: Compare demographic data, mortality and intensive care unit length of stay (ICU LOS) in patients coming from public hospitals of the Brazilian Unified Health System and patients coming from private hospitals of the Brazilian Supplementary Health System in a single private general ICU. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study was performed on patients in the ICU of Hospital Anchieta in Brasilia, DF, Brazil, over a period of 2 years. The patients were divided into 2 groups: patients from public hospitals of the Unified Health System group (PUBH, N = 75) and patients from private hospitals of the Brazilian Supplementary Health System group (PRIH, N = 1,614). RESULTS: In total, 1,689 patients were admitted. For the entire cohort, the median age was 62 ± 17 years, and the mean APACHE II score was 13 ± 7. The PUBH had a higher APACHE II score (18 ± 9 versus 12 ± 7, P = 0.00), were younger (53 ± 2 versus 63 ± 16 years, P = 0.00), and had higher incidence of circulatory shock (19.2 versus 11.4%, P = 0.01), and kidney injury or renal failure (38.4 versus 25.5%, P = 0.01) at the time of ICU admission, compared to the PRIH. The ICU LOS was longer for the PUBH compared to the PRIH (18 ± 18 versus 6 ± 14 days, P = 0.00). The overall mortality rate was higher for the PUBH compared to the PRIH (33.3 versus 9.7%, P = 0.00). CONCLUSIONS: In a single ICU, where patients had access to the same human and technological resources, patients from the PUBH had a higher APACHE II score, ICU LOS, and mortality rate than those from the PRIH.

A Agência Nacional de Saúde e a política de saúde mental no contexto do sistema suplementar de assistência à saúde: avanços e desafios / The Brazilian National Health Agency and the mental health policy in the context of the private health system: developments and challenges

O presente estudo trata das políticas de saúde mental conduzidas pela Agência Nacional de Saúde Suplementar - ANS, no cenário da assistência dispensada pelos planos privados de assistência à saúde. Dessa forma, analisa o modelo de regulação econômica e assistencial do setor suplementar, a forma de atuação da ANS como organismo regulador e o tratamento dispensado à assistência à saúde mental nos normativos emanados pela Agência. Concluiu-se que, apesar de avanços como a obrigatoriedade de cobertura para todas as doenças listadas na CID-10, a inclusão do tratamento das tentativas de suicídio e das lesões autoinfligidas, o atendimento por uma equipe multiprofissional, a ampliação do número de sessões com psicólogo, com terapeuta ocupacional e de psicoterapia, e a inclusão do hospital-dia na rede credenciada da operadora, a assistência à saúde mental ainda é pouco normatizada pelos regramentos vigentes no sistema de atenção à saúde suplementar, existindo muitas lacunas a serem preenchidas. A regulamentação dos mecanismos de coparticipação e franquia, a coparticipação crescente como limitador da internação psiquiátrica sem o repensar em uma rede substitutiva e a limitação do número de sessões de psicoterapia de crise são alguns dos desafios colocados para a ANS, no sentido de que esta cumpra realmente o seu papel institucional de promoção da defesa do interesse público na assistência suplementar à saúde.

Dinâmica de construção de relações sociais: estudo dos valores sociais no contexto da saúde suplementar no Brasil / Dynamic construction of social relations: a study of social values in the context of health care in Brazil

O presente estudo tem por objetivo analisar a evolução dos fatores históricos que ensejaram a formação do atual desenho do setor de saúde suplementar no Brasil, tendo por principal base teórica a teoria da estruturação de Anthony Giddens. A pesquisa utiliza o método da análise de documentos e entrevistas semi-estruturadas, envolvendo a análise qualitativa dos dados coletados com vistas à compreensão dos fenômenos estudados, segundo a perspectiva dos atores. Neste sentido, a pesquisa identifica os principais atores que compõem a estrutura do setor e suas relações recíprocas, inferindo sobre os recursos de poder utilizados, procurando mostrar, por meio de uma descrição histórica linear, com cortes em fatos determinantes, a evolução da constituição do setor. Ao final, o estudo mostra que o setor da saúde suplementar se formou a partir de inúmeras ações do Estado, principalmente após a década de setenta, como fruto de uma estratégia alternativa de disseminação de serviços de saúde à população brasileira. O estudo avalia que os fenômenos da crescente longevidade da população brasileira e a conseqüente redução nos postos de trabalho e na renda familiar poderão acarretar uma elitização do setor da saúde suplementar representando um grave problema para o final da próxima década para este sensível segmento da política social do governo brasileiro.

The aim of the present study is to analyze the evolution of the historical and institutional elements that generate the current design of the private health market in Brazil. Its main theoretical basis is the Theory of Structuration, by Anthony Giddens. The research data were collected through documents and semi structured interviews involving the qualitative analyze due to understand the field’s phenomena under anactors’ perspective. The research identifies the several players that integrate the market, and their reciprocal relationship besides of the powers’ resources used to reach them.Thus, it tries to show, through a historic linear description, and emphasis in thedeterminant facts, the evolution of the market’s constitution. The study demonstrates that the field had formed from several Estate’ actions, basically after the past seventy’ decade, as result of a alternative Government’ strategy towards a Brazilian population’sdissemination plan of health’ services that enforced the institutionalization of social structures, with a strong internal interaction. In the end, the study estimates that the crescent longevity’ Brazilian’s population and the consequent work’s dismiss maycause a private health’ elitism conforming a future problem in this sensible segment of the social politics of the Brazilian government.