Cost-effectiveness of primary care services provided by nurses' private clinics in Thailand.
The purpose of this descriptive study was to determine the cost-effectiveness of primary care provided at nurses' private clinics in Thailand. The sample consisted of 63 nurses' private clinics and 3518 clients. These clinics were selected by multi-stage random sampling. An observation sheet and three questionnaires were used to collect the data. The data indicated that Nurses' private clinics can provide services for about 90% of the clients' problem at the primary care level at about a 50% lower cost than physicians' services. Thus, nurses' private clinics' services should be included in the reimbursement criteria of the national health care system. For nurses who run their own clinics, the Thailand Nursing Council should require additional training and certification in primary medical care. Nurses' private clinics should extend to home care service for people in the nearby area.
Hanucharurnkul
Somchit
S
Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand.
Leucha
Yuwadee
Y
Chutungkorn
Piyakorn
P
Chantraprasert
Suwanna
S
Athaseri
Supranee
S
Noonill
Naiyana
N
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000554:Ambulatory Care Facilities / Q000458:organization & administration*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D004363:Drug Utilization / Q000191:economics / Q000592:standards; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008507:Medically Underserved Area; D008875:Middle Aged; D009722:Nurse Practitioners / Q000458:organization & administration*; D015403:Nursing Evaluation Research; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D011320:Primary Health Care / Q000458:organization & administration*; D011331:Private Practice / Q000458:organization & administration*; D019035:Rural Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013785:Thailand