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Applied Health Economics and Health Policy
Published in: Applied Health Economics and Health Policy 5/2015

01-10-2015 | Original Research Article

An Interrupted Time-Series Analysis to Assess Impact of Introduction of Co-Payment on Emergency Room Visits in Cyprus

Author: Panagiotis Petrou

Published in: Applied Health Economics and Health Policy | Issue 5/2015

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Abstract

Introduction

A co-payment fee of EUR10 was introduced in Cyprus, in order to cope with overcrowding of emergency room services. The scope of this paper is the assessment of the short-term impact of this measure.

Methods

We used an interrupted time-series autoregressive integrated moving average model, and we analyzed official data from Cyprus’ largest emergency room facility for three years.

Results

Co-payment is associated with a 16 % statistically significant reduction of emergency room visits. No impact was observed in categories of teenagers, children, infants, and people over 70 years old.

Conclusions

Co-payment was proven to be effective in Cyprus’ emergency room setting and is expected to lessen congestion in the emergency room. The price insensitivity of people aged over 70 years, teenagers, children and infants, merits additional research for the identification of the underlying reasons.
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Metadata
Title
An Interrupted Time-Series Analysis to Assess Impact of Introduction of Co-Payment on Emergency Room Visits in Cyprus
Author
Panagiotis Petrou
Publication date
01-10-2015
Publisher
Springer International Publishing
Published in
Applied Health Economics and Health Policy / Issue 5/2015
Print ISSN: 1175-5652
Electronic ISSN: 1179-1896
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s40258-015-0169-2

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