The socio-demographic and economic profile of patients attending emergency services in a private hospital

Abstract

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES: Studies have highlighted that the private sector contributes a major share in outpatient healthcare and a small proportion in inpatient care in Sri Lanka. There is little or no information on the contribution of the private health sector in emergency care. METHODS: A descriptive cross sectional study was carried out on patients admitted to an emergencytreatment unit of a private hospital in Colombo from October 15th to December 15th 2016. Data were abstracted from medical records, verbal interviews, and the computerized database maintained by the hospital. Data were analyzed using the SPSS 16. RESULTS: 2395 patients (1426 men; 59.2%) were admitted during the study period. The majority of patients were 61 to 70 years (30.4%) and 80.3% were employed. 61.6% of patients had a health insurance policy; 67.3% of these were private insurance policies. 38.4% of insurance policies were self-financed. The monthly income ranged between Rs.15, 000 and Rs.150, 000 (mean Rs.41, 800±26,180). Persons less than 60 years were more likely to have insurance cover (1.58 times in state policies and 1.34 times in private insurance) as compared to patients 60 years and over. Persons with an education less than A-Levels were more likely (OR=l.78) to have private insurance cover as compared to a person with a higher education.CONCLUSION: Persons with varying economic backgrounds seek emergency health care in private hospitals. A large percentage of patients seeking emergency health care in private hospitals have to bear out-of-pocket expenditure. The older the person, the less likely that (s)he has health insurance cover.