Hostname: page-component-76fb5796d-vvkck Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-27T23:09:47.235Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

What is the Actual Cost of Neonatal Intensive Care?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 March 2009

Uwe Ewald
Affiliation:
University Hospital, Uppsala

Extract

Health care providers are increasingly concerned about the rising costs of the total health care system, which is now approaching 10–12% of the gross national product (GNP). The long-term decrease in birth rates and the prolonged mean length of life of the population shifts the age pyramid to older ages, bringing a higher demand for health care at increasing costs. Another explanation for the rising health care expenditure is the application of modern medical technologies in the treatment of the terminally or critically ill at any age. It has been estimated that 1 of every 7 health care dollars is now consumed by patients who are within 6 months of the end of their lives (5).

Type
The Ethics of NIC
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1991

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

1.Bloom, B. S.Changing infant mortality: The need to spend more while getting less. Pediatrics, 1984, 73, 862–66.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
2.Boyle, M. H., Torrance, G. W., Sinclair, J. C., & Horwood, S. P.Economic evaluation of neonatal intensive care of very-low-birth-weight infants. New England Journal of Medicine, 1983, 308, 1330–37.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
3.Britton, S. B., Chir, B., Fitzharding, P. M., & Ashby, S.Is intensive care justified for infants weighing less than 801 gm at birth? Journal of Pediatrics, 1981, 99, 937–43.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
4.Budetti, P. P., & McManus, P.Assessing the effectiveness of neonatal intensive care. Medical Care, 1982, 20, 1027–39.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
5.Chair, G. D.The price of life: ethics and economics. Report of the Task Force on the Affordability of New Technology and Highly Specialized Care: Life at any price? Minneapolis: Minnesota Coalition on Health Care Costs, 1985 vii, 4147.Google Scholar
6.Hernandez, J. A., Offut, J., & Butterfield, J. L.The cost of care of the less-than-1000-gram infant. Clinics in Perinatology, 1986, 13, 461–76.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
7.Newns, B., Drummond, M. F., Durbin, G. M., & Culley, P.Costs and outcomes in regional neonatal intensive care unit, Archives of Diseases in Childhood, 1984, 59, 1064–67.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
8.Phibbs, C. S., Williams, R. L., & Phibbs, R. H.Newborn risk factors and costs of neonatal intensive care. Pediatrics, 1981, 68, 313–3.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
9.Pomerance, J. J., Ukrainski, C. T., Ukra, T., Henderson, D. H., Nash, A. H., & Meredith, J. L.Cost of living for infants weighing 1,000 grams or less at birth. Pediatrics, 1978, 61, 908–10.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
10.Sandhu, B., Stevenson, R. C., Cooke, R. W. I., & Pharaoah, P. O. D.Cost of neonatal intensive care for very-low-birth-weight infants. Lancet, 1986, i, 600–03.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
11.Stahlman, M. T.Newborn intensive care: Success or failure? Journal of Pediatrics, 1984, 105, 162–67.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
12.Subramanian, C., Clark-Prakash, C., Dadina, Z. K., et al. Intensive care for high-risk infants in Calcutta. American Journal of Diseases of Children, 1986, 140, 885–88.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
13.Walker, D.-J. B., Feldman, A., Vohr, B. R. & Oh, W.Cost-benefit analysis of neonatal intensive care for infants weighing less than 1,000 grams at birth. Pediatrics, 1984, 74, 2025.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
14.Walker, D.-J. B., Vohr, B. R., & Oh, W.Economic analysis of regionalized neonatal care for very low-birth-weight infants in the state of Rhode Island. Pediatrics, 1985, 76, 6974.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed