Jafar Yahyavi Dizaj, Dr Sara Emamgholipuor Dashti, Faroogh Na'emani, Reza Reza Hashempuor,
Volume 18, Issue 4 (1-2020)
Abstract
Background & Aims of study: Hospital care and paramedical services has become one of the most important and problematic issues in the field of health and critical concern of health planners and policymakers. In current study, contribution of various paramedical services costs were extracted from the total household health expenditure.
Materials and Methods: The current study is a descriptive study that was conducted in a 5-year study period from 2011 to 2015. The annual income-based survey data of the household provided by Statistics Center during 2011-2015 was used to achieve the study aims. Excel_2013 software was used. Contribution of household and paramedical services cost were calculated from household health expenditures per year in urban and rural areas.
Results: Regarding the results of the current study, on average, 20 % of total household health expenditure is allocated to paramedical services in urban and rural areas. The cost of radiology, sonography, radiotherapy, scan, echo cardiac stress test, endoscopy, electrocardiogram (ECG) etc, accounts for the largest contribution of hospital and non-hospital paramedical services costs, which include an averagely about 50 %t of paramedical services costs.
Conclusion: Understanding paramedical services costs can guide policymakers and decision-makers in the field of paramedical services to decide better. Moreover it helps them to reduce direct payments from the pocket of household health expenditures. Therefore, considering the laboratory sector and radiology, sonography, radiotherapy sectors and so on are very important to reduce paramedical services costs.
Kamran Irandoust, Jafar Yahyavi Dizaj, Hiwa Mirzaii, Faroogh Na'emani,
Volume 20, Issue 2 (9-2021)
Abstract
Background & Aims of study: Service delivery is known as the most tangible function of the health system and hospitals are the most obvious manifestation of this function. Also, one of the most important factors in creating catastrophic health expenditures is the use of hospital services; therefore, in the present study, an attempt was made to describe the share of hospital service costs from total household health expenditures.
Materials and Methods: The present descriptive study was performed retrospectively for the period of 2011 to 2015. The study was done using the Household Expenditure and Income Survey (HEIS) which is conducted annually by the Statistical Center of Iran (SCI). Based on the designed model, the share of hospital costs from household health expenditure was determined by year and type of services in urban and rural areas.
Results: On average, 18.5% of households used hospital services and about 28.7% of household health expenditure had been spent on receiving health services from hospitals. The average cost of household hospital medical services was 92.4% in urban areas and 91.4% in rural areas. On average, 51% of the cost of household medical services in hospitals was related to public hospitals, and the highest cost spent by households in public hospitals was allocated to surgery.
Conclusion: The share of hospital services costs and the rate of use of these services among Iranian households are significant, which may lead to poverty and catastrophic health expenditures. Therefore, it is necessary for health decision makers to design and implement evidence-based policies to manage and control this part of health costs.
