Electric scooter-related injuries may present financial burden to patients, hospitals
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
Key takeaways:
- Results showed the aggregate cost of hospital interventions for electric scooter-related orthopedic injuries was $2,329,325.39.
- The average cost per patient was $28,406.41.
Electric scooter-related orthopedic injuries may present a steep cost and financial burden to patients and hospitals, according to data published in the Journal of Orthopaedic Business.
“Additionally, at our county-funded institution, most of these injuries occur in patients with either no insurance or county-funded care leading to a significant displacement of cost-burden to the local taxpayer,” the researchers wrote in the study.
To determine the financial burden of electric scooter-related orthopedic injuries, researchers retrospectively analyzed data from 82 patients (71% men; average age, 34.1 years) treated for electric scooter-related orthopedic injuries in the ED of a single county hospital with a level-1 trauma center designation. Outcomes measured included patient demographics, employment and insurance status, details of injury presentation and characteristics, details of evaluation and interventions, and cost of treatment.
Overall, researchers found the aggregate cost of hospital interventions for patients admitted to the hospital for electric scooter-related orthopedic injuries was $2,329,325.39. According to the study, 35.3% of patients required surgical intervention, which had an average cost of $10,749.54 per patient. In addition, researchers found the average cost of hospital interventions per patient was $28,406.41.
In terms of insurance status, 65% of patients were either uninsured or were on county-funded coverage, according to the study.
“As a result of safety concerns, several cities have similarly banned the use of mass rental e-scooters in portions of or all of their jurisdictions,” the researchers wrote in the study. “Given the magnitude of associated health system costs demonstrated within this study, the financial burden to the city or taxpayers may be of additional consideration when regulating this burgeoning form of transportation.”
Collapse
Tisano BK, et al. J Ortho Business. 2023;doi:10.55576/job.v3i4.42.
Read more about
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts