Appropriateness of laboratory expenditure for primary health care facilities across South Africa
African Journal of Primary Health Care & Family Medicine
| Field | Value | |
| Title | Appropriateness of laboratory expenditure for primary health care facilities across South Africa | |
| Creator | Mahomed, Ozayr Cassim, Naseem | |
| Description | Background: Primary health care (PHC) services have been prioritised from a cost-containment perspective. To manage expenditure, facility managers use the Laboratory Handbook that indicates the Essential Laboratory List (ELL) tests.Aim: The aim of this study was to analyse PHC laboratory expenditure to assess the impact of the ELL in South Africa.Setting: We reported ELL compliance at the national, provincial and health district levels.Methods: A retrospective cross-sectional study was used to analyse data for the 2019 calendar year. The unique tariff code descriptions were used to develop a lookup table to identify ELL compliant testing. Researchers analysed data for the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) conditional grant tests and by facility for the bottom two districts.Results: There were 356 497 tests (1.3%) that were not ELL compliant that equated to an expenditure of $2.4 million. Essential Laboratory List compliance ranged from 97.9% to 99.2% for clinics, community healthcare centres and community day centres. The provincial ELL compliance ranged from 97.6% for the Western Cape to 99.9% for the Mpumalanga province. The average cost per ELL test was $7.92. At the district level, ELL compliance ranged from 93.4% for Central Karoo to 100% for Ehlanzeni.Conclusions: High levels of ELL compliance have been demonstrated from the national to the health district level, demonstrating the value of the ELL.Contribution: This study provides data for quality improvement initiatives at primary care facilities. | |
| Publisher | AOSIS | |
| Date | 2023-06-19 | |
| Identifier | 10.4102/phcfm.v15i1.3740 | |
| Source | African Journal of Primary Health Care & Family Medicine; Vol 15, No 1 (2023); 8 pages 2071-2936 2071-2928 | |
| Language | eng | |
| Relation |
The following web links (URLs) may trigger a file download or direct you to an alternative webpage to gain access to a publication file format of the published article:
https://phcfm.org/index.php/phcfm/article/view/3740/6327
https://phcfm.org/index.php/phcfm/article/view/3740/6328
https://phcfm.org/index.php/phcfm/article/view/3740/6329
https://phcfm.org/index.php/phcfm/article/view/3740/6330
|
|
ADVERTISEMENT
