Patient Resources in a Cancer Center

Despite the emergence of more effective targeted therapies, cancer treatment remains a complex process requiring a holistic patient-centered approach, beyond the direct medical care offered by the treating hematologist/oncologist. This entails empowering patients with knowledge about prescribed regimens and their risks and side effects, within a multifaceted treatment team involving hematologists/oncologists, advanced practice providers, nurses, nutritionists, and pharmacists, among others. Additionally, a multitude of resources are generally available including financial, religious, and spiritual support to help patients in the treatment journey. This chapter describes resources generally available to cancer patients, as well as an array of supporting services in a cancer center to address the patient needs.

Estimation of the direct cost of epilepsy among Sudanese epileptic patients

Background Epilepsy is a common disease, and its economic consequences are manifested in frequent hospital visits, examinations and treatments. Objective To estimate the direct costs of epilepsy among Sudanese epileptic patients. Design and methods The study was conducted on some clinical cases of epilepsy patients in Sudan. Data on clinical characteristics, utilization of medical services, and costs were collected from 380\ patients using a standardized pre-tested format. The patients’ approval was obtained as necessary. Results Direct medical care costs was (2,395 Sudanese Pounds “SDG”, 417 American Dollars “USD”) per year per patient, of which antiepileptic drugs was the major component (1,587 SDG, 276 USD). Other costs are medical consultations and hospitalization charges (SDG 148, 26 USD), investigations cost (146 SDG, 25 USD), and cost of travel to clinics (514 SDG, 90 USD). Nonmedical direct cost - in form of traditional healers' visits were reported by 13.5% of the patients and estimated to be (1,422 SDG, 251 USD) per patient per year. The overall mean annual cost for epilepsy per patient in our clinic was approximately (2,724 SDG, 474 USD). Conclusion The economic burden of epilepsy patients is relatively high, and payers in Sudan have many characteristics and significant differences from other countries.

Is an Ounce of Remittance Worth a Pound of Health? The Case of Tajikistan

This article investigates the impact of international remittances on health outcomes. While the existing literature finds that remittances increase healthcare expenditure, expenditure alone is an incomplete proxy for health outcomes. Consequently, this article explores the impact of remittances on proxies for health outcomes beyond expenditure and for all household members (adults and children). It uses an instrumental variable approach to control for the endogeneity of remittances and finds a mostly positive relationship between remittances and health outcomes. This article also explores several possible transmission channels for how remittances affect health, finding that remittances have a positive and significant effect on household members’ likelihood of seeking direct medical care. It confirms remittances’ positive role in improving the welfare of the receivers and emphasizes the importance of distinguishing between remittances and other income sources in terms of their effects on development. JEL Classification: I15, F22, R23

The Direct Medical Care Costs Associated with Gastric Cancer in a Third-level Hospital in Iran

Background: Approximately 20 million individuals are afflicted with cancer worldwide. Gastric cancer is the fourth leading cause of death in the world today. The aim of this study was to evaluate the direct medical care costs of gastric cancer patients in a tertiary teaching hospital in Iran. Methods: The present study is descriptive-analytical, carried out in two main stages. In the first stage we designed a form based on valid international guidelines. The second step identified the costs of diagnosis and treatment of gastric cancer. To analyze the cost data, descriptive statistics such as mean and standard deviation were utilized. We used nonparametric statistical tests such as Mann-Whitney, Wilcoxon in SPSS 16 software for data analysis. Results: In this study, the records of 449 gastric cancer patients who had referred to Omid tertiary teaching hospital of Mashhad between the years 2005 and 2015 were studied. According to the results, the highest average costs were related to patient hospitalization costs. Based on the significance level of the Mann Whitney test, no remarkable difference could be seen in the total costs of metastatic and non-metastatic patients (P-value: P> 0.05). Conclusion: Organizations such as: insurance agencies, charities and financial institutions need to adopt new policies to reduce patients’ expenditures, remove financial barriers and prevent patients from facing catastrophic costs.