학술논문
Economic Evaluation of a Telemedicine Service to expand Primary Health Care in Rio Grande do Sul: TeleOftalmo's microcosting analysis
Document Type
Academic Journal
Author
Source
Ciência & Saúde Coletiva. April, 2020, Vol. 25 Issue 4, p1349, 12 p.
Subject
Language
English
ISSN
1413-8123
Abstract
Introduction Telemedicine can be defined as the use of information and communication technologies in healthcare, enabling the provision of services related to improving patient access to care (1). The emergence [...]
This study evaluated the cost of public telediagnostic service in ophthalmology. The time-driven activity-based costing method (TDABC) was adopted to examine the cost components related to teleophthalmology. This method allowed us to establish the standard unit cost of telediagnosis, given the installed capacity and utilization of professionals. We considered data from one year of telediagnoses and evaluated the cost per telediagnosis change throughout technology adaptation in the system. The standard cost calculated by distance ophthalmic diagnosis was approximately R$ 119, considering the issuance of 1,080 monthly ophthalmic telediagnostic reports. We identified an imbalance between activities, which suggests the TDABC method's ability to guide management actions and improve resource allocation. The actual unit cost fell from R$ 783 to R$ 283 over one year--with room to approach the estimated standard cost. Partial economic evaluations contribute significantly to support the incorporation of new technologies. The TDABC method deserves prominence, as it enables us to retrieve more accurate information on the cost of technology, improving the scalability and management capacity of the healthcare system. Key words Health Technology Assessment, Telemedicine, Teleophthalmology
This study evaluated the cost of public telediagnostic service in ophthalmology. The time-driven activity-based costing method (TDABC) was adopted to examine the cost components related to teleophthalmology. This method allowed us to establish the standard unit cost of telediagnosis, given the installed capacity and utilization of professionals. We considered data from one year of telediagnoses and evaluated the cost per telediagnosis change throughout technology adaptation in the system. The standard cost calculated by distance ophthalmic diagnosis was approximately R$ 119, considering the issuance of 1,080 monthly ophthalmic telediagnostic reports. We identified an imbalance between activities, which suggests the TDABC method's ability to guide management actions and improve resource allocation. The actual unit cost fell from R$ 783 to R$ 283 over one year--with room to approach the estimated standard cost. Partial economic evaluations contribute significantly to support the incorporation of new technologies. The TDABC method deserves prominence, as it enables us to retrieve more accurate information on the cost of technology, improving the scalability and management capacity of the healthcare system. Key words Health Technology Assessment, Telemedicine, Teleophthalmology