Journal of Emergency Practice and Trauma

The financial burden of imaging tests conducted in the emergency department of a teaching hospital: a brief report

Document Type : short communication

Authors

Sahar Mirbaha 1
Mohammadmehd Forouzanfar 1
Amin Saberinia 1
Amir Salimi 2
Hamid Kariman 3
Mozhgan Farmahini Farahani 4

1 Department of Emergency Medicine, Shohadaye Tajrish Hospital, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

2 School of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

3 Department of Emergency Medicine, Imam Hosein Hospital, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

4 Department of Emergency Medicine, Sina Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

https://doi.org/10.15171/jept.2019.14
Abstract
Objective: Each imaging technique has a special application and usage, and should be used in the right situation. Physicians choose the type of imaging technique by considering the type of tissue and the benefits and disadvantages of the imaging method as well as its financial burden on the patient. The aim of this study was to estimate the cost of imaging tests performed in the emergency department (ED) of an educational hospital and determine their financial burden on both the patients and the healthcare system of the country. Methods: This retrospective descriptive cross-sectional single-center study was conducted in Shohadaye Tajrish, an educational hospital, during one year. The study population consisted of all patients who had undergone some type of imaging (CT scan, ultrasound, radiography, magnetic resonance imaging [MRI]) in the ED. The information was collected using a predesigned checklist. The costs of a variety of imaging methods for patients referred to the ED were calculated using different types of accounting units and PACS system. Results: The number of patients who visited the ED of the studied hospital during a one year period was 63507. The total cost of performing different types of imaging methods in the studied center throughout the one-year target period was 44018695695 Rials (≃$US 423745) (59.27% of which was spent on CT scan, 16.09% on ultrasound, 13.75% on plain radiography and 10.87% on MRI). Conclusion: According to the collected data, the total cost of radiology was 44018695695 Rials. The highest cost was related to CT scan modality, and the lowest belonged to MRI.

Keywords

Costs
Cost analysis
Emergency service
Hospital
Radiology
Iran
Subjects
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Journal of Emergency Practice and Trauma
Volume 6, Issue 1
January 2020
Pages 43-46

  • Receive Date 17 September 2019

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