Mvros R, Dean B S, Krenzelok E P
Pittsburgh Poison Center, Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, PA 15213.
J Toxicol Clin Toxicol. 1994;32(5):503-8. doi: 10.3109/15563659409011054.
To illustrate costs associated with poison center closure a survey of lay callers to the poison center and emergency department costs was conducted. For 21 days all callers to a Regional Poison Information Center receiving home treatment were asked the type of health insurance coverage the patient had. This information was documented on the medical record and tabulated. Health care costs were determined by surveying local hospitals. Of the callers, 1,276 (43%) provided insurance information: 928 (73%) of the patients were covered by private insurers; 258 (20%) received state medical assistance and 90 (7%) had no medical coverage. The average emergency department cost of an ingestion exposure was $210.75, ocular $172.22, and inhalation $298.03. In the absence of a Regional Poison Information Center responding to 61,000 calls annually, the state would incur a debt ranging from 1.27 to 2.20 million dollars if 60% of those covered under state assistance went to the emergency department. Private insurers would forfeit 4.58 to 7.93 million dollars per year. These cost estimates consider only the emergency department charges, not unnecessary admissions. State government and private insurers clearly are the financial beneficiaries of poison center services which save several times their operating costs.
为了说明与毒物控制中心关闭相关的成本，我们对毒物控制中心的非专业来电者以及急诊科成本进行了一项调查。在21天的时间里，我们询问了所有接受家庭治疗的地区毒物信息中心的来电者患者所拥有的医疗保险类型。这些信息被记录在病历上并制成表格。通过对当地医院进行调查来确定医疗保健成本。在来电者中，1276人（43%）提供了保险信息：928名患者（73%）由私人保险公司承保；258人（20%）接受国家医疗救助，90人（7%）没有医疗保险。摄入暴露的平均急诊科成本为210.75美元，眼部暴露为172.22美元，吸入暴露为298.03美元。如果没有每年接听61000个电话的地区毒物信息中心，那么如果60%接受国家救助的患者前往急诊科，该州将产生127万至220万美元的债务。私人保险公司每年将损失458万至793万美元。这些成本估计仅考虑了急诊科费用，而非不必要的住院费用。州政府和私人保险公司显然是毒物控制中心服务的经济受益者，这些服务节省的成本是其运营成本的数倍。
