Designation, diligence and drift: understanding laboratory expenditure increases in British Columbia, 1996/97 to 2005/06.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Laboratory testing is one of the fastest growing areas of health services spending in Canada. We examine the extent to which increases in laboratory expenditures might be explained by testing that is consistent with guidelines for the management of chronic conditions, by analyzing fee-for-service physician payment data in British Columbia from 1996/97 and 2005/06.

Method

We used direct standardization to quantify the effect on laboratory expenditures from changes in: fee levels; population growth; population aging; treatment prevalence; expenditure on recommended tests for those conditions; and expenditure on other tests. The chronic conditions selected were those with guidelines containing laboratory recommendations developed by the BC Guidelines and Protocol Adv

SUBMITTER: Sivananthan SN 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3542022 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature