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

Authors: Teresa M O’Connor, Heather A Hanks, Mark S Elcock, Richard C Turner and P Craig Veitch

Med J Aust 2009; 190 (8): 462-463. || doi: 10.5694/j.1326-5377.2009.tb02513.x
Published online: 20 April 2009

In reply: We can only agree with Gorton about the high level of costs to families and communities caused by road trauma. While our report attempted to provide estimates of the immediate, direct costs to the medical system,1 we were well aware of the additional costs to families, particularly those from rural and remote areas, as they attempted to support their injured family member. These costs, unfortunately, are difficult to quantify, and have a long-term impact on families and communities. Although our study was able to estimate some of the costs associated with road trauma, there is a need for prospective studies with specially formulated costing tools to capture the costs more fully.

An associated study describing the impact of road trauma on the work of general practitioners in rural and remote areas 2 outlined the problems that GPs have in managing chronic vehicle-related trauma without access to specialist rehabilitation services. Improving local health services may reduce some costs to families, but many of the patients retrieved from rural road crashes initially require specialist care in tertiary-level facilities.

1. School of Medicine and Dentistry, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD.
2. Statewide Clinical Coordination and Retrieval Services, Queensland Health, Townsville, QLD.
3. Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW.
4. Community Based Health Care Research Unit, Royal Rehabilitation Centre Sydney, Sydney, NSW.

Correspondence: Teresa.Oconnor@jcu.edu.au