Benedict Matthew Abiodun, Mofolo Nathaniel, Adefuye Anthonio Oladele
Department of Family Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa.
School of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa.
Pan Afr Med J. 2020 May 26;36:35. doi: 10.11604/pamj.2020.36.35.22346. eCollection 2020.
Suicide rate in South Africa is contentiously rated among the top ten highest in the world. Deliberate self-poisoning (DSP) remains one of the common methods for suicide. The management of DSP often impose a significant economic burden on health services with a growing loss of resources. However, studies on the financial implications associated with the management of DSP cases in South Africa are scarce and no known study has investigated the financial implication of managing DSP in a resource strained health system as obtained in the Free State Department of Health (FSDoH). This present study investigated the financial implication of managing DSP in a state regional hospital in the Free State province and proffer efficient ways of utilizing limited available resources in DSP management. This was a descriptive, retrospective cross-sectional study in which clinical records of 212 DSP cases which presented during an 18-month period at the emergency department of a state regional hospital were reviewed. The incidence of DSP was higher among individuals who are females (66% females vs 34% males), unemployed (65.6%) in the age group 20-29 years (44.8%). DSP management cost an average of R50, 000 per month. Wasteful expenditures such as blanket requests for laboratory investigation accounted for 19% of the cost. These findings agree with prior studies that have reported that managing DSP could pose a huge direct financial burden on hospital expenditure and health service delivery. If future cost containment and quality of care are to be achieved in the Free State province, efforts must be made by healthcare personnel to combat wasteful and unnecessary expenditure during patient management. We hope that recommendations proffered by this current study will alleviate the financial burden of DSP management in the province.
南非的自杀率在世界上颇具争议地位列前十。蓄意自我中毒(DSP)仍然是常见的自杀方式之一。DSP的管理常常给医疗服务带来巨大经济负担,资源流失日益严重。然而,关于南非DSP病例管理所涉及的财务影响的研究很少,而且尚无已知研究调查过像自由邦卫生部(FSDoH)那样在资源紧张的医疗系统中管理DSP的财务影响。本研究调查了自由邦省一家州立地区医院管理DSP的财务影响,并提出在DSP管理中有效利用有限可用资源的方法。这是一项描述性回顾性横断面研究,对一家州立地区医院急诊科在18个月期间收治的212例DSP病例的临床记录进行了审查。DSP的发生率在女性(女性占66%,男性占34%)、失业者(65.6%)以及20 - 29岁年龄组(44.8%)中较高。DSP管理平均每月花费50,000兰特。诸如笼统要求进行实验室检查等浪费性支出占成本的19%。这些发现与先前的研究一致,先前研究报告称管理DSP可能给医院支出和医疗服务提供带来巨大的直接财务负担。如果自由邦省未来要实现成本控制和医疗质量提升,医护人员必须努力在患者管理过程中杜绝浪费和不必要的支出。我们希望本研究提出的建议将减轻该省DSP管理的财务负担。