Indian Journal of Critical Care Medicine

Register      Login

SEARCH WITHIN CONTENT

FIND ARTICLE

Volume / Issue

Online First

Archive
Related articles

VOLUME 28 , ISSUE 9 ( September, 2024 ) > List of Articles

VIEWPOINT

“Financially Palliative”: The Need to Address a Perplexing Financial Conundrum in Emergency and Critical Care

Rachana Bhat, Akshaya Ramaswami

Keywords : Catastrophic expenditure, Cost-effective care, Healthcare expenditure

Citation Information : Bhat R, Ramaswami A. “Financially Palliative”: The Need to Address a Perplexing Financial Conundrum in Emergency and Critical Care. Indian J Crit Care Med 2024; 28 (9):820-822.

DOI: 10.5005/jp-journals-10071-24786

License: CC BY-NC 4.0

Published Online: 31-08-2024

Copyright Statement:  Copyright © 2024; The Author(s).


Abstract

The terminology “Financially Palliative” is a pseudonym and refers to a unique challenge faced in countries where public healthcare insurance coverage is not robust and the percentage of out-of-pocket health expenditure continues to be high. Emergency and critical care healthcare expenditures in such circumstances usually pose additional burden as they are unforeseen expenses, disproportionately high, for which most people are unprepared. Such situations may lead into a vicious cycle that initiates with expenditure hesitancy and delay in definitive care, which in turn leads to deterioration in the patient's condition and delay-related complications. This further fuels expenditure hesitancy due to uncertain prognosis and outcomes. The future threats posed by this issue are manifold, which are not only restricted to poor patient outcomes and diminishing physician morale but also hinder progress in science by influencing research outcomes/endpoints in areas where it is highly prevalent. Identifying and defining the problem with terminology is only the first step in working towards solutions. The issue needs to be addressed and mitigated before it spreads its roots deeper into our healthcare system.


PDF Share
  1. Share of government health expenditure in total health expenditure increases from 28.6 per cent in fy14 to 40.6 per cent in fy19 [Internet]. National Health Accounts 2018–2019, MoHFW [cited 2024 Jul 22]. Available from: https://pib.gov.in/pib.gov.in/Pressreleaseshare.aspx?PRID=1894902.
  2. Chacko, B, Ramakrishnan, N, Peter, J V. Approach to intensive care costing and provision of cost-effective care. Indian J Crit Care Med 2023;27(12):876–887. DOI: 10.5005/jp-journals-10071-24576.
  3. Obembe TA, Levin J, Fonn S. Prevalence and factors associated with catastrophic health expenditure among slum and non-slum dwellers undergoing emergency surgery in a metropolitan area of South Western Nigeria. PloS ONE 2021;16(8):e0255354. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0255354.
  4. Alkahtani T, Shujaa A. Prevalence, causes, and predictors of discharge against medical advice (DAMA) in an emergency setting: An updated systematic review and meta-analysis. Saudi J Emerg Med 2021;2(1):32–41. DOI: 10.24911/SJEMed/72-1588889104.
PDF Share
PDF Share

© Jaypee Brothers Medical Publishers (P) LTD.