Unit Costs and Its Drivers for Hypertension Treatment in Emergency Department of Muhimbili National Referral Hospital in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania

Mujinja Phares; Ringo Millen Charles

doi:doi:10.11648/j.hep.20210602.13

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Unit Costs and Its Drivers for Hypertension Treatment in Emergency Department of Muhimbili National Referral Hospital in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania

Mujinja Phares, Ringo Millen Charles

Published in International Journal of Health Economics and Policy (Volume 6, Issue 2)

Received: 20 November 2020 Accepted: 7 December 2020 Published: 8 May 2021

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Abstract

Importance of economic evaluations in public sectors cannot be over emphasized as now when funding is scarce especially the health sector which is regarded as a consumer. Objective was to evaluate the unit costs of Hypertension and treatment and their drivers in Muhimbili National Hospital (MNH), Tanzania A cross-sectional descriptive hospital-based (direct cost-provider perspective) study was carried out from July to Sept 2020 in Emergency Department of MNH. The study horizon and analytical horizon were both one year (January to December 2019). Costing of materials, diagnosis and invested time were estimated from patient’s electronic files. Treatment information and analysis were done using Microsoft excel for quantitative data. Bottom up approach was used to arrive at the total and unit cost of the health conditions. Estimated unit cost for treating hypertension was TZS 165,465 where main cost driver was length of stay, which drove the providers cost. Sensitivity analysis showed that, cost of health personnels is the driver of unit cost for hypertension treatment. Furthermore the high cost was due to higher waiting times patients spend while seeking treatment and that reduction of the average length of stay by 50% resulted in 50% reduction in the unit cost of treating hypertension. Unit cost for providing treatment to hypertensive patients is high. Annual unit cost studies should precede budgeting and pricing for services offered by the department so as to optimize cost of providing services. Prioritizing preventive services especially annual health checks could lower curative services costs

Published in	International Journal of Health Economics and Policy (Volume 6, Issue 2)
DOI	10.11648/j.hep.20210602.13
Page(s)	49-55
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Unit Cost, Hypertension, Health Care Providers

References

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APA Style

Mujinja Phares, Ringo Millen Charles. (2021). Unit Costs and Its Drivers for Hypertension Treatment in Emergency Department of Muhimbili National Referral Hospital in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania. International Journal of Health Economics and Policy, 6(2), 49-55. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.hep.20210602.13

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ACS Style

Mujinja Phares; Ringo Millen Charles. Unit Costs and Its Drivers for Hypertension Treatment in Emergency Department of Muhimbili National Referral Hospital in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania. Int. J. Health Econ. Policy 2021, 6(2), 49-55. doi: 10.11648/j.hep.20210602.13

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AMA Style

Mujinja Phares, Ringo Millen Charles. Unit Costs and Its Drivers for Hypertension Treatment in Emergency Department of Muhimbili National Referral Hospital in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania. Int J Health Econ Policy. 2021;6(2):49-55. doi: 10.11648/j.hep.20210602.13

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@article{10.11648/j.hep.20210602.13,
  author = {Mujinja Phares and Ringo Millen Charles},
  title = {Unit Costs and Its Drivers for Hypertension Treatment in Emergency Department of Muhimbili National Referral Hospital in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania},
  journal = {International Journal of Health Economics and Policy},
  volume = {6},
  number = {2},
  pages = {49-55},
  doi = {10.11648/j.hep.20210602.13},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.hep.20210602.13},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.hep.20210602.13},
  abstract = {Importance of economic evaluations in public sectors cannot be over emphasized as now when funding is scarce especially the health sector which is regarded as a consumer. Objective was to evaluate the unit costs of Hypertension and treatment and their drivers in Muhimbili National Hospital (MNH), Tanzania A cross-sectional descriptive hospital-based (direct cost-provider perspective) study was carried out from July to Sept 2020 in Emergency Department of MNH. The study horizon and analytical horizon were both one year (January to December 2019). Costing of materials, diagnosis and invested time were estimated from patient’s electronic files. Treatment information and analysis were done using Microsoft excel for quantitative data. Bottom up approach was used to arrive at the total and unit cost of the health conditions. Estimated unit cost for treating hypertension was TZS 165,465 where main cost driver was length of stay, which drove the providers cost. Sensitivity analysis showed that, cost of health personnels is the driver of unit cost for hypertension treatment. Furthermore the high cost was due to higher waiting times patients spend while seeking treatment and that reduction of the average length of stay by 50% resulted in 50% reduction in the unit cost of treating hypertension. Unit cost for providing treatment to hypertensive patients is high. Annual unit cost studies should precede budgeting and pricing for services offered by the department so as to optimize cost of providing services. Prioritizing preventive services especially annual health checks could lower curative services costs},
 year = {2021}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - Unit Costs and Its Drivers for Hypertension Treatment in Emergency Department of Muhimbili National Referral Hospital in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania
AU  - Mujinja Phares
AU  - Ringo Millen Charles
Y1  - 2021/05/08
PY  - 2021
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.hep.20210602.13
DO  - 10.11648/j.hep.20210602.13
T2  - International Journal of Health Economics and Policy
JF  - International Journal of Health Economics and Policy
JO  - International Journal of Health Economics and Policy
SP  - 49
EP  - 55
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2578-9309
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.hep.20210602.13
AB  - Importance of economic evaluations in public sectors cannot be over emphasized as now when funding is scarce especially the health sector which is regarded as a consumer. Objective was to evaluate the unit costs of Hypertension and treatment and their drivers in Muhimbili National Hospital (MNH), Tanzania A cross-sectional descriptive hospital-based (direct cost-provider perspective) study was carried out from July to Sept 2020 in Emergency Department of MNH. The study horizon and analytical horizon were both one year (January to December 2019). Costing of materials, diagnosis and invested time were estimated from patient’s electronic files. Treatment information and analysis were done using Microsoft excel for quantitative data. Bottom up approach was used to arrive at the total and unit cost of the health conditions. Estimated unit cost for treating hypertension was TZS 165,465 where main cost driver was length of stay, which drove the providers cost. Sensitivity analysis showed that, cost of health personnels is the driver of unit cost for hypertension treatment. Furthermore the high cost was due to higher waiting times patients spend while seeking treatment and that reduction of the average length of stay by 50% resulted in 50% reduction in the unit cost of treating hypertension. Unit cost for providing treatment to hypertensive patients is high. Annual unit cost studies should precede budgeting and pricing for services offered by the department so as to optimize cost of providing services. Prioritizing preventive services especially annual health checks could lower curative services costs
VL  - 6
IS  - 2
ER  -

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Author Information

Mujinja Phares

Department of Development Studies, Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences, Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania
Ringo Millen Charles

Emergency Department, Muhimbili National Hospital, Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania

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APA Style

Mujinja Phares, Ringo Millen Charles. (2021). Unit Costs and Its Drivers for Hypertension Treatment in Emergency Department of Muhimbili National Referral Hospital in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania. International Journal of Health Economics and Policy, 6(2), 49-55. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.hep.20210602.13

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ACS Style

Mujinja Phares; Ringo Millen Charles. Unit Costs and Its Drivers for Hypertension Treatment in Emergency Department of Muhimbili National Referral Hospital in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania. Int. J. Health Econ. Policy 2021, 6(2), 49-55. doi: 10.11648/j.hep.20210602.13

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AMA Style

Mujinja Phares, Ringo Millen Charles. Unit Costs and Its Drivers for Hypertension Treatment in Emergency Department of Muhimbili National Referral Hospital in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania. Int J Health Econ Policy. 2021;6(2):49-55. doi: 10.11648/j.hep.20210602.13

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@article{10.11648/j.hep.20210602.13,
  author = {Mujinja Phares and Ringo Millen Charles},
  title = {Unit Costs and Its Drivers for Hypertension Treatment in Emergency Department of Muhimbili National Referral Hospital in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania},
  journal = {International Journal of Health Economics and Policy},
  volume = {6},
  number = {2},
  pages = {49-55},
  doi = {10.11648/j.hep.20210602.13},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.hep.20210602.13},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.hep.20210602.13},
  abstract = {Importance of economic evaluations in public sectors cannot be over emphasized as now when funding is scarce especially the health sector which is regarded as a consumer. Objective was to evaluate the unit costs of Hypertension and treatment and their drivers in Muhimbili National Hospital (MNH), Tanzania A cross-sectional descriptive hospital-based (direct cost-provider perspective) study was carried out from July to Sept 2020 in Emergency Department of MNH. The study horizon and analytical horizon were both one year (January to December 2019). Costing of materials, diagnosis and invested time were estimated from patient’s electronic files. Treatment information and analysis were done using Microsoft excel for quantitative data. Bottom up approach was used to arrive at the total and unit cost of the health conditions. Estimated unit cost for treating hypertension was TZS 165,465 where main cost driver was length of stay, which drove the providers cost. Sensitivity analysis showed that, cost of health personnels is the driver of unit cost for hypertension treatment. Furthermore the high cost was due to higher waiting times patients spend while seeking treatment and that reduction of the average length of stay by 50% resulted in 50% reduction in the unit cost of treating hypertension. Unit cost for providing treatment to hypertensive patients is high. Annual unit cost studies should precede budgeting and pricing for services offered by the department so as to optimize cost of providing services. Prioritizing preventive services especially annual health checks could lower curative services costs},
 year = {2021}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - Unit Costs and Its Drivers for Hypertension Treatment in Emergency Department of Muhimbili National Referral Hospital in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania
AU  - Mujinja Phares
AU  - Ringo Millen Charles
Y1  - 2021/05/08
PY  - 2021
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.hep.20210602.13
DO  - 10.11648/j.hep.20210602.13
T2  - International Journal of Health Economics and Policy
JF  - International Journal of Health Economics and Policy
JO  - International Journal of Health Economics and Policy
SP  - 49
EP  - 55
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2578-9309
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.hep.20210602.13
AB  - Importance of economic evaluations in public sectors cannot be over emphasized as now when funding is scarce especially the health sector which is regarded as a consumer. Objective was to evaluate the unit costs of Hypertension and treatment and their drivers in Muhimbili National Hospital (MNH), Tanzania A cross-sectional descriptive hospital-based (direct cost-provider perspective) study was carried out from July to Sept 2020 in Emergency Department of MNH. The study horizon and analytical horizon were both one year (January to December 2019). Costing of materials, diagnosis and invested time were estimated from patient’s electronic files. Treatment information and analysis were done using Microsoft excel for quantitative data. Bottom up approach was used to arrive at the total and unit cost of the health conditions. Estimated unit cost for treating hypertension was TZS 165,465 where main cost driver was length of stay, which drove the providers cost. Sensitivity analysis showed that, cost of health personnels is the driver of unit cost for hypertension treatment. Furthermore the high cost was due to higher waiting times patients spend while seeking treatment and that reduction of the average length of stay by 50% resulted in 50% reduction in the unit cost of treating hypertension. Unit cost for providing treatment to hypertensive patients is high. Annual unit cost studies should precede budgeting and pricing for services offered by the department so as to optimize cost of providing services. Prioritizing preventive services especially annual health checks could lower curative services costs
VL  - 6
IS  - 2
ER  -

Copy | Download