title: An estimate of patient costs and benefits of the new primary eye care model utilization through vision centers in Andhra Pradesh, India.
abstract: Little or no work has been carried out in developing countries on costs to patients and patient benefits in accessing primary eye care services. The purpose of this study was to assess the indirect, direct, and overall costs of patients accessing vision care at vision center services (New Primary Eyecare Approach) as compared with the nearest private clinic. The authors used a standardized questionnaire and a paired sample t test to check the significance of difference of costs. They considered a P value of <.05 as significant in this study. The total costs were significantly lower for patients who accessed the vision centers compared with the costs these patients may have incurred if they had sought services from the nearest town-based clinic (mean in Indian rupees [INR] of 178.4 ± 48.3, standard error of the mean = 4.2, and INR 366.2 ± 48.2, standard error of the mean = 4.2, respectively, t test P value < .001). vision centers, besides providing quality eye care services, offer substantial cost savings to rural populations compared with town-based optical clinics.
authors.affiliation: International Centre for Advancement of Rural Eye Care, LV Prasad Eye Institute, Hyderabad, India. vilaskovai@lvpei.org
authors.forename: Vilas
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Kovai
authors.forename: Gullapalli N
authors.initials: GN
authors.lastname: Rao
authors.forename: Brien
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Holden
authors.forename: Sannapaneni
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Krishnaiah
authors.forename: Shubhra K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Bhattacharya
authors.forename: Srinivas
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Marmamulla
authors.forename: Rohit
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Khanna
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017046:Cost Savings; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D005249:Fees and Charges; D005260:Female; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006801:Humans; D007194:India; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011320:Primary Health Care / Q000191:economics*; D017149:Private Sector / Q000191:economics; D036301:Qualitative Research; D019035:Rural Health Services / Q000191:economics*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult