Dr Hannah Carter, a senior research fellow in health economics at AusHSI, has published a paper in the British Medical Journal Open, outlining the full costs of non-beneficial end-of-life treatments in Australian hospitals.
Her article explains the findings of a study, led by researchers from The University of Queensland and QUT, which analysed the treatment of 907 patients who died in three Australian public hospitals over a six-month period in 2012.
The points highlighted in Hannah’s article are:
- Australia spends an estimated $153 million on non-beneficial, end-of-life hospital treatment
- 41,000 acute hospital bed days each year are given to non-beneficial treatment
- Scarce health resources should bring the largest benefit to patients
- Alternatives to acute hospital stays need to be considered
Hannah provides AusHSI with expert advice and guidance on health economics and health services evaluation, including research project design, methodology and cost-effectiveness analysis.