Patient care ‘must be cost effective’

HEALTHCARE planners will need to look beyond just managing drugs and supply budgets to achieve efficiencies as pressure on healthcare funding increases, a health economic expert said.

“Although high-calibre patient-centred care is the goal of healthcare providers, it is critical that this patient care is cost effective,” said Professor Paul Trueman.

The professor of health economics at Brunel University in London was the lead speaker at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland’s (RCSI) annual nursing and midwifery conference in Dublin yesterday.

Mr Trueman believes healthcare planners will need to consider radical changes and redesign of patient services to achieve cost efficiencies as pressure on healthcare funding increases.

In particular, he spoke about the increasing role of health economics in the planning and delivery of modern healthcare and the key role that nurses have to play in evaluating new treatment pathways and methods of service delivery.

Mr Trueman said health economic research to date has had limited input from the nursing community.

“As the primary point of contact for many patients, nursing professionals are ideally positioned to identify potential improvements and contribute to cost effectiveness studies in service delivery,” he said.

Another speaker, motor neurone disease clinical nurse specialist, Bernie Corr, said there was ambivalence towards legalising advance care directives among patients, their carers and healthcare professionals.

Ms Corr, who was involved in the first study of end-of-life decisions and advance care-directives in motor neuron diseases, said most of those who participated favoured disease specific advance care directives.

“There is a need for increased public information and awareness in this area,” she said.

The nurse specialist believes end of life issues should be discussed early in the disease process and initiated by healthcare professionals.

“Family consensus on end of life decisions is of utmost importance,” she stressed.

Around 200 nurses and midwives attended the conference, Promoting Patient Centred Care in Times of Change — the Challenge for Nurses and Midwives. A number of international speakers gave a global perspective on the challenges facing the professions.

Applications rejected

DISABILITY groups are concerned that nearly two out of every three applications for a special allowance for caring for a child with a severe disability are being rejected.

The Domiciliary Care Allowance is a €309.50 monthly payment for families of children with a severe disability who require extra care and attention.

Figures released by the Department of Social Protection show that from April 2009 to end of December 2010, 8,846 claims were received but only 38% of applications were approved.

Inclusion Ireland, Autism Rights and Equality Alliance and People with Disabilities in Ireland said the refusal rate of 62% represents a trebling of the refusal rate since the department started administering the scheme in 2009.