ArticleBMC health services research2011
Provider performance in treating poor patients--factors influencing prescribing practices in lao PDR: a cross-sectional study.
Article in BMC health services research, 2011. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Pooled it
- Treatment-seeking behaviour for febrile illnesses and its implications for malaria control and elimination in Savannakhet Province, Lao PDR (Laos): a mixed method study.BMC health services research · 2019Article
- Perceptions of asymptomatic malaria infection and their implications for malaria control and elimination in Laos.PloS one · 2018Article
- Health policy evolution in Lao People's Democratic Republic: context, processes and agency.Health policy and planning · 2015Review
- Achieving universal health coverage through voluntary insurance: what can we learn from the experience of Lao PDR?BMC health services research · 2013Article
- Informal allopathic provider knowledge and practice regarding hypertension in urban and rural Bangladesh.PloS one · 2012Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundOut-of-pocket payments make up about 80% of medical care spending at hospitals in Laos, thereby putting poor households at risk of catastrophic health expenditure. Social security schemes in the form of community-based health insurance and health equity funds have been introduced in some parts of the country. Drug and Therapeutics Committees (DTCs) have been established to ensure rational use of drugs and improve quality of care. The objective was to assess the appropriateness and expenditure for treatment for poor patients by health care providers at hospitals in three selected provinces of Laos and to explore associated factors.
methodsCross-sectional study using four tracer conditions. Structured interviews with 828 in-patients at twelve provincial and district hospitals on the subject of insurance protection, income and expenditures for treatment, including informal payment. Evaluation of each patient's medical record for appropriateness of drug use using a checklist of treatment guidelines (maximum score=10).
resultsNo significant difference in appropriateness of care for patients at different income levels, but higher expenditures for patients with the highest income level. The score for appropriate drug use in insured patients was significantly higher than uninsured patients (5.9 vs. 4.9), and the length of stay in days significantly shorter (2.7 vs. 3.7). Insured patients paid significantly less than uninsured patients, both for medicines (USD 14.8 vs. 43.9) and diagnostic tests (USD 5.9 vs. 9.2). On the contrary the score for appropriateness of drug use in patients making informal payments was significantly lower than patients not making informal payments (3.5 vs. 5.1), and the length of stay significantly longer (6.8 vs. 3.2), while expenditures were significantly higher both for medicines (USD 124.5 vs. 28.8) and diagnostic tests (USD 14.1 vs. 7.7).
conclusionsThe lower expenditure for insured patients can help reduce the number of households experiencing catastrophic health expenditure. The positive effects of insurance schemes on expenditure and appropriate use of medicines may be associated with the long-term effects of promoting rational use of drugs, including support to active DTC work.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.