To report healthcare utilization, healthcare costs, and their determinants for meningioma patients in long-term follow-up, focusing on specific aspects such as frequency of specialist visits and associated costs.
Key Findings:
Patients reported significant disease burden and impairments in role functioning despite being considered cured, indicating ongoing health challenges.
Higher rates of anxiety and depression were observed in meningioma patients compared to healthy controls, suggesting a need for mental health support.
Healthcare utilization was categorized into high and low based on the number of specialist visits, highlighting disparities in care access.
Interpretation:
The findings suggest that meningioma patients experience ongoing health challenges that lead to increased healthcare utilization and costs, underscoring the need for targeted care strategies to address these issues.
Limitations:
Exclusion of patients with disease recurrence may limit generalizability, as their healthcare needs may differ significantly.
Self-reported data may introduce bias, potentially affecting the accuracy of healthcare utilization and quality of life assessments.
Conclusion:
Understanding the determinants of healthcare utilization and costs can enhance care efficiency and improve health outcomes for meningioma patients, ultimately leading to better resource allocation and patient support.
by Kevin A. Huynh, Eva C. Coopmans, Amir H. Zamanipoor Najafabadi, Linda Dirven, Saskia M. Peerdeman, Nienke R. Biermasz, Marco J. T. Verstegen, Wouter R. van Furth
This quality improvement project found that using a distress screening tool for head and neck cancer patients who were 2 or more years post-treatment led to an increased number of referrals for psychosocial needs.
