Acute care service utilisation and the possible impacts of a user-fee policy in Hong Kong
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چکیده
Objectives. To examine the utilisation pattern of accident and emergency services and to study the possible impact of a user-fee policy on non-emergency attendances in Hong Kong. Design. Retrospective study. Methods. Four different scenarios are postulated to examine the impact on the number of accident and emergency attendances of a user-fee policy from 2000 to 2029. Patient volume data of accident and emergency attendances for 2000 were made available by the Hospital Authority of Hong Kong. Results. Non-emergency use of the accident and emergency services is the main cause of over-utilisation and contributes to more than 70.0% of its use. Only 22.0% of patients attending accident and emergency departments were admitted to a ward for further treatment. By 2029, the number of accident and emergency attendances would increase by more than 47.0% if the present utilisation pattern prevails. However, if patients at triage levels 3, 4, and 5 were discouraged from using the accident and emergency services, the number of attendances would decrease by 76.4%. Conclusion. The proposed user-fee policy would act as a deterrent by preventing unnecessary use of accident and emergency services. However, the use of out-patient services may be increased as a result and attendance should be carefully monitored. Community health education and civic education relating to abuse of accident and emergency services would be effective in reducing over-utilisation of these services.
منابع مشابه
Acute care service utilisation and the possible impacts of a user-fee policy in Hong Kong.
OBJECTIVES To examine the utilisation pattern of accident and emergency services and to study the possible impact of a user-fee policy on non-emergency attendances in Hong Kong. DESIGN Retrospective study. METHODS Four different scenarios are postulated to examine the impact on the number of accident and emergency attendances of a user-fee policy from 2000 to 2029. Patient volume data of ac...
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