Continuity of Care Is Associated with Medical Costs and Inpatient Days in Children with Cerebral Palsy
Open Access
- 22 April 2020
- journal article
- research article
- Published by MDPI AG in International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
- Vol. 17 (8), 2913
- https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17082913
Abstract
Background: Children with cerebral palsy (CP) place a considerable burden on medical costs and add to an increased number of inpatient days in Taiwan. Continuity of care (COC) has not been investigated in this population thus far. Materials and Methods: We designed a retrospective population-based cohort study using Taiwan’s National Health Insurance Research Database. Patients aged 0 to 18 years with CP catastrophic illness certificates were enrolled. We investigated the association of COC index (COCI) with medical costs and inpatient days. We also investigated the possible clinical characteristics affecting the outcome. Results: Over five years, children with CP with low COCI levels had higher medical costs and more inpatient days than did those with high COCI levels. Younger age at CP diagnosis, more inpatient visits one year before obtaining a catastrophic illness certificate, pneumonia, and nasogastric tube use increased medical expenses and length of hospital stay. Conclusions: Improving COC reduces medical costs and the number of inpatient days in children with CP. Certain characteristics also influence these outcomes.Keywords
This publication has 50 references indexed in Scilit:
- Prevalence and lifetime healthcare cost of cerebral palsy in South KoreaHealth Policy, 2011
- Lifetime costs of cerebral palsyDevelopmental Medicine and Child Neurology, 2009
- ‘Intractable spastic cerebral palsy in children: a Dutch cost of illness study’Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology, 2007
- Economic and psychologic costs for maternal caregivers of gastrostomy-dependent childrenThe Journal of Pediatrics, 2004
- Continuity of care: a multidisciplinary reviewBMJ, 2003
- Defining and Measuring Interpersonal Continuity of CareAnnals of Family Medicine, 2003
- Multilevel Analysis in Public Health ResearchAnnual Review of Public Health, 2000
- Nutritional management of the disabled child: the role of percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomyDevelopmental Medicine and Child Neurology, 1997
- Statistical Power Analysis for the Behavioral SciencesTechnometrics, 1989
- A Quantitative Measure of Continuity of CareMedical Care, 1977