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Feasibility and economic benefits of community-based palliative care in regional Australia A case study with cost analysis1.43 MB
Published VersionCC BY-NC-ND V4.0, Open Access
Journal article
Feasibility and economic benefits of community-based palliative care in regional Australia: a case study with cost analysis
Progress in Palliative Care, Vol.32(4), pp.257-264
2024
Appears in UniSC Supported Open Access Outputs
Abstract
There is an increasing demand for community-based palliative care services in regional Australia, but feasibility and economic benefits are unclear. This study describes the financial components of service delivery, economic viability from a provider perspective, and potential cost-savings from a health service perspective. We used case study methodology and obtained data from the service provider performance measurement data, annual reports, and internal records. Economic viability included an appraisal of all financial activity, cash on hand, total assets, and liabilities from July 2019 to June 2022. Direct service provision data determined the value for money given total costs and outcomes. Annual cost savings due to decreased utilisation of other healthcare services were estimated using case study data and cost estimates from the literature. The service is largely funded by the government (61%) and community donations & fundraising (34%). Applying a conservative cost estimate based on a reduction of healthcare use (hospitalisations and emergency admissions), cost savings are estimated to range from AU$730 000 to AU$980 000 per year for the cohort of n = 160 clients in the last year of life alone. Average costs per person per year of providing palliative care services were much lower for these clients (AU$6194) compared to the national average for in-home (AU$8000) or hospital-based palliative care services (AU$15 373). The case study site is a viable community-based service but is highly dependent on government funding. It provides excellent value for money from a health service perspective and provides cost saving. Future studies should investigate the generalizability of results.
Details
- Title
- Feasibility and economic benefits of community-based palliative care in regional Australia: a case study with cost analysis
- Authors
- Katharina Merollini (Corresponding Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Health - Public HealthDoreen Nabukalu (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of HealthTrudi Flynn (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Law and SocietyJosie Linn (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Law and SocietyCindy Davis (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Law and SocietyJohn Rosenberg (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Health - Nursing
- Publication details
- Progress in Palliative Care, Vol.32(4), pp.257-264
- Publisher
- Taylor & Francis
- Date published
- 2024
- DOI
- 10.1080/09699260.2024.2374604
- ISSN
- 1743-291X; 0969-9260
- Copyright note
- © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, and is not altered, transformed, or built upon in any way. The terms on which this article has been published allow the posting of the Accepted Manuscript in a repository by the author(s) or with their consent.
- Data Availability
- Availability of data and materials is not applicable to this study.
- Grant note
- This work was commissioned and funded by Little Haven Cooloola Sunshine Coast Palliative Care Association Inc.
- Organisation Unit
- Healthy Ageing Research Cluster; School of Health - Nursing; Cancer Research Cluster; School of Law and Society; School of Health - Public Health
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 991042298902621
- Output Type
- Journal article
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