COST ANALYSIS OF MEDICAL TREATMENT OVERSEAS VERSUS TELEMEDICINE IMPLEMENTATION FOR SICK PATIENT IN KUWAIT

5^th International Conference on Medical Informatics & Telemedicine

August 31- 01 September, 2017 | Prague, Czech Republic

Ali Buabbas and Hamza Alshawaf

Kuwait University, Kuwait

Scientific Tracks Abstracts: J Health Med Informat

Abstract :

Medical treatment overseas system in Kuwait costs the government a budget over 1.3 billion USD. Since 1998 the cost has risen from 280 million USD to exceed 1.3 billion in 2015. A telemedicine system has the potential to reduce the number of Kuwaiti patients being sent abroad for treatment, and so reduce costs. Justifying the economic contributions for telemedicine is very important to confirm the cost benefits of its use. The cost analysis was performed to evaluate the costs of implementing a telemedicine system in Kuwait for overseas treatment patients, and then to calculate the results with the conventional way of sending patients abroad for treatment. The results showed that the estimated costs for three years using telemedicine with the conventional treatment abroad system had an economic impact, where potential savings could be 300 million per annum. Simplifying the calculation process around economic analysis of telemedicine has made the evaluation process successful. The study concluded that telemedicine can support the conventionally pathway financially and clinically as a way of health care delivery.

Biography :

Buabbas has completed his PhD in Medical Informatics from Brunel University, London 2013. He is currently a postdoctoral fellow at the Faculty of Medicine, Kuwait University. He is interested in medical informatics research, including: informatics in pharmacy, nutrition, diagnostics imaging, and telemedicine. He has on-going research into the impact of Robotic Assisted Surgery (RAS) on surgeons and surgical patients. Buabbas have participated in several international conferences in his field.