Volume 190 - Issue 8
The medical and retrieval costs of road crashes in rural and remote northern Queensland, 2004–2007: findings from the Rural and Remote Road Safety Study
Author: Susan M Gorton
Med J Aust 2009; 190 (8): 462-463. || doi: 10.5694/j.1326-5377.2009.tb02512.x
Published online: 20 April 2009
Published online: 20 April 2009
To the Editor: I read with interest the research article by O’Connor and colleagues, which concluded that the medical and retrieval costs of road crashes in rural and remote northern Queensland represent “a considerable economic burden”.1 Although the authors noted that the broader Rural and Remote Road Safety Study aimed to also gain an understanding of the social costs of such crashes, they focused on the monetary costs in this report.
As we all know, road crashes not only cost money but have enormous personal impact, in both the short and long term, on the patients and their families. This impact is likely to be even greater for patients from rural and remote areas who are unable to be cared for in their local hospital. Remember that for almost all patients transferred, there are families who must also find their way to, and temporary accommodation (sometimes for months) in, an unfamiliar large town or city. Close family members, in addition to the patient, also suffer loss of income, disruption of schooling, and loss of personal network support due to the geographic dislocation.
Thank you to the authors of this study, which reinforces the desperate need to continue to improve local health services in rural and remote Australia, including “more efficient trauma management”,1 to contain costs and to lessen patient and family suffering.
References
- O’Connor TM, Hanks HA, Elcock MS, et al. The medical and retrieval costs of road crashes in rural and remote northern Queensland, 2004–2007: findings from the Rural and Remote Road Safety Study. Med J Aust 2009; 190: 54-56. 0_BEECEHAC