Reports on Health Insurance from University of Toronto Provide New Insights (The personal financial burden of chronic rhinosinusitis: A Canadian…

Reports on Health Insurance from University of Toronto Provide New Insights (The personal financial burden of chronic rhinosinusitis: A Canadian perspective)

By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Managed Care Weekly Digest -- Researchers detail new data in Health Insurance. According to news reporting originating in Toronto, Canada, by NewsRx journalists, research stated, "Previous studies describe the financial burden of chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) from the perspective of third-party payers, but, to our knowledge, none analyze the costs borne by patients (i.e., out-of-pocket expenses [OOPE]). Furthermore, this burden has not been previously investigated in the context of a publicly funded health care system."

The news reporters obtained a quote from the research from the University of Toronto, "The purpose of this study was to characterize the financial impact of CRS on patients, specifically by evaluating its associated OOPEs and the perceived financial burden. The secondary aim was to determine the factors predictive of OOPEs and perceived burden. Patients with CRS at a tertiary care sinus center completed a self-administered questionnaire that assessed their socioeconomic characteristics, disease-specific quality of life (22-item Sino-Nasal Outcome Test [SNOT-22]), workdays missed due to CRS, perceived financial burden, and direct medical and nonmedical OOPEs over a 12-month period. Total OOPEs were calculated from the sum of direct medical and nonmedical OOPEs. Regression analyses determined factors predictive of OOPEs and the perceived burden. A total of 84 patients completed the questionnaires. After accounting for health insurance coverage and the median direct medical, direct nonmedical, and total OOPEs per patient over a 12-month period were Canadian dollars (CAD) $336.00 (2011) [U.S. $339.85], CAD $129.87 [U.S. $131.86], and CAD $607.10 [U.S. $614.06], respectively. CRS resulted in an average of 20.6 workdays missed over a 12-month period. Factors predictive of a higher financial burden included younger age, a greater number of previous sinus surgeries, <80% health insurance coverage, residing out of town, and higher SNOT-22 scores. Total OOPEs incurred from the treatment of CRS may amount to CAD $607.10 [U.S. $614.06] per patient per year, within the context of a single-payer health care system."

According to the news reporters, the research concluded: "Managing clinicians should be aware of patient groups with a greater perceived financial burden and consider counseling them on strategies to offset expenses, including obtaining travel grants, using telemedicine for follow-up assessments, providing drug samples, and streamlining diagnostic testing with medical visits."

For more information on this research see: The personal financial burden of chronic rhinosinusitis: A Canadian perspective. American Journal of Rhinology & Allergy, 2017;31(4):216-221 (see also Health Insurance).

Our news correspondents report that additional information may be obtained by contacting J. Yip, Division of Rhinology, Dept. of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Additional authors for this research include A.D. Vescan, I.J. Witterick and E. Monteiro.

The direct object identifier (DOI) for that additional information is: https://doi.org/10.2500/ajra.2017.31.4452. This DOI is a link to an online electronic document that is either free or for purchase, and can be your direct source for a journal article and its citation.

Keywords for this news article include: Canada, Toronto, Ontario, Health Insurance, Health and Medicine, Investment and Finance, North and Central America.

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