To compare the average costs for the activities carried out in the Physiotherapy services (First Time Consultation; Follow-up or Control Consultation; Comprehensive or General Physiotherapy; Physiotherapy Group Health Education; Physiotherapy Individual Health Education) in outpatient care, inpatient care, and home care modalities, in Musculoskeletal, Neurological, and Cardiopulmonary physiotherapy services.
Multicenter, descriptive, cross-sectional study of an ABC Costing of physiotherapy services in Colombia for first-time consultation, follow-up, general care, and group and individual education will be carried out, in the musculoskeletal, neurological, and cardiopulmonary physiotherapy services, in the outpatient, inpatient, and home-care modalities, and in which the direct, indirect and intangible costs were characterized. The study counts on the participation of 180 physiotherapy services in 6 different Colombian geographical regions (Caribean, Center, Eastern Plains, West, East, and Southwest). The information on each service on the activities and relative costs was collected through a semi-structured interview conducted remotely synchronously through the Zoom and Google Meet platforms (previously validated by 15 experts in physiotherapy management). Informed consent was obtained from the participants (service coordinators) and respect for the confidentiality of the information and adherence to the current habeas data regulations were guaranteed. The comparison between the different characterized activities was carried out between the different services.
The physiotherapy intervention activity presented an average of 40-105 minutes in the care process. The cost of the consultation for the first time ranges between 2.6 -7.9 Current Legal Minimum Wages Day (CLMW) depending on the modality of the service ( in-person hospital care or outpatient care) The domiciliary attention presented a cost increased approximately 50-70% of the base-cost. The national average cost of a follow-up consultation is 2.1-5,6 CLMW in face-to-face consultation and 3.8-8,4 CLMW in-home care. A general or comprehensive care consultation costs 4.4-7,9 CLMW in face-to-face consultation and 6.6-11,3 CLMW in-home care. It must be taken into account that the care consultation includes costs related to the processes of appointment assignment, billing, previous COVID records, biosafety actions, examination, evaluation, diagnosis, prognosis, and closing of medical records. The study also reports the costs related to these activities.
The study allowed us to compare the average session times and procedures in each of the activities paid for, as well as the human resources, equipment, and accessories required to ensure quality of services.
Knowing the cost of physiotherapy services allows for determining times, human resources, equipment, supplies, and accessories for understanding the investment and the economic return of this investment and the complexities and differences between country regions.
Physiotherapy Services
Colombia
