The Burden of Out-of-Pocket Expenditure for Emergency Health Care Service in St. Paul Hospital Millennium Medical College, Addis Ababa Ethiopia
1St Paul hospital millennium medical college.
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Summary
Out-of-pocket payments are the primary financial burden for acutely ill patients in emergency departments, exceeding other methods like community-based health insurance and government waivers across all demographics.
Area of Science:
- Health Economics
- Public Health
- Healthcare Management
Background:
- High out-of-pocket (OOP) healthcare expenditure significantly hinders universal healthcare access, particularly for acute care.
- OOP payments pose a substantial financial burden on patients seeking emergency medical services.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the prevalence and burden of out-of-pocket payments among acutely ill patients presenting to an emergency department.
- To identify the primary payment methods utilized by patients in acute care settings.
Main Methods:
- A cross-sectional study design was employed, analyzing patient records from St. Paul Hospital Millennium Medical College in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
- Descriptive statistics were utilized to summarize findings from 388 eligible patient charts out of 22,982 total clients.
Main Results:
- Out-of-pocket payments represented the most common payment method at 35.8%, followed by community-based health insurance (15.5%) and government fee waivers (13.7%).
- OOP spending was consistently higher than other payment methods across diverse demographic groups (age, gender, region) and clinical factors (referral source, comorbidities).
Conclusions:
- Out-of-pocket payments are the predominant financial mechanism for acute care in the studied emergency department.
- The findings highlight a significant financial barrier for patients, underscoring the need for improved healthcare financing strategies to reduce OOP burdens.