Out-of-pocket expenditure for hypertension care : a population-based study in low-income urban Medellin, Colombia

Background Hypertension requires life-long medical care, which may cause economic burden and even lead to catastrophic health expenditure. Objective To estimate the extent of out-of-pocket expenditure for hypertension care at a population level and its impact on households' budgets in a low-income urban setting in Colombia. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional survey in Santa Cruz, a commune in the city of Medellin. In 410 randomly selected households with a hypertensive adult, we estimated annual basic household expenditure and hypertension-attributable out-of-pocket expenditure. For socioeconomic stratification, we categorised households according to basic expenditure quintiles. Catastrophic hypertension-attributable expenditure was defined as out-of-pocket expenditure above 10% of total household expenditure. Results The average annual basic household expenditure was US dollars at purchasing power parity (USD-PPP) $12,255.59. The average annual hypertension-attributable out-of-pocket expenditure was USD-PPP$147.75 (95% CI 120.93-174.52). It was incurred by 73.9% (95% CI 69.4%-78.1%) of patients, and consisted mainly of direct non-medical expenses (76.7%), predominantly for dietary requirements prescribed as non-pharmacological treatment and for transport to attend health care consultations. Medical out-of-pocket expenditure (23.3%) was for the most part incurred for pharmacological treatment. Hypertension-attributable out-of-pocket expenditure represented on average 1.6% (95% CI 1.3%-1.9%) of the total annual basic household expenditure. Eight households (2.0%; 95% CI 1.0%-3.8%) had catastrophic health expenditure; six of them belonged to the two lowest expenditure quintiles. Payments related to dietary requirements and transport to consultations were critical determinants of their catastrophic expenditure. Conclusions Out-of-pocket expenditure for hypertension care is moderate on average, but frequent, and mainly made up of direct non-medical expenses. Catastrophic health expenditure is uncommon and affects primarily households in the bottom socioeconomic quintiles. Financial protection should be strengthened by covering the costs of chronic diseases-related dietary requirements and transport to health services in the most deprived households

Utilización de la escleroterapia con espuma en úlceras varicosas de miembros inferiores Use of foam sclerotherapy in the treatment of varicose ulcers of lower extremities

La úlcera varicosa es una de las complicaciones más temidas y frecuentes de la insuficiencia venosa crónica, por la sintomatología y discapacidad que provoca en el paciente y los elevados costos que ocasiona. Se presenta un caso de un paciente con antecedentes de de várices en miembros inferiores, y una úlcera varicosa de varios años de evolución en el miembro inferior izquierdo rebelde a diferentes tratamientos, a la cual se le realiza la técnica escleroterapia con espuma y se logra su cicatrización con una evolución favorable.The varicose ulcer is one of the more frequent and fearsome complications of chronic venous insufficiency due to its symptomatology and disability provoked in a patient with a history of lower extremities varices and the high related costs. This is the case a patient with a background of lower extremities varices and a varicose ulcer of some years of evolution in the left lower limb unmanageable for different treatments being necessary to perform the foam sclerotherapy technique achieving its healing with a favorable course

La regionalización de los servicios de salud como una estrategia de reorganización sanitaria The regionalization of the health services as a sanitary reorganization strategy

OBJETIVO: actualizar el tema de la descentralización y la regionalización asociados al desempeño de los sistemas de salud con vistas a contribuir conceptualmente al estudio de la temática en Cuba y en otros países latinoamericanos. DESARROLLO: se empleó la revisión documental no sistemática y se presentó la experiencia que por más de 4 décadas ha desarrollado el gobierno y el sistema de salud cubano en materia de organización y perfeccionamiento de los servicios de salud para mejorar los niveles de salud de la población. Se expuso las bases, principios y lecciones aprendidas de estas experiencias de descentralización y regionalización de los servicios de salud en Cuba, devenidas en bases para el desarrollo de un estudio nacional. CONCLUSIONES: los procesos de regionalización favorecen la capacidad de resolver problemas de los servicios de salud, a partir de la aplicación consecuente de los principios básicos de la descentralización como un largo proceso que permite ofrecer niveles apropiados de atención para todos, mejorar la calidad de los servicios, incrementar la satisfacción de la población y alcanzar niveles óptimos de la relación costo-beneficio.OBJECTIVE: to update the topic of decentralization and regionalization associated with the performance of the health systems in order to conceptually contribute to the study of the thematic in Cuba and in other Latin American countries. DEVELOPMENT: the non-systematic documentary review was used, and the experience accumulated for more than 4 decades by the Cuban government and the health system as regards organization and improvement of the health services to raise the population's health levels was presented. The bases, principles and lessons from these experiences of decentralization and regionalization of the health services in Cuba, which have become bases for the development of a national study, were exposed. CONCLUSIONS: the regionalization processes favour the capacity to solve problems of the health services, starting from the consequent application of the basic principles of decentralization as a long process that allows to offering adequate levels of attention to all, to improve the quality of services, to increase the satisfaction of the population and to attain optimal levels of cost-benefit relation