Research Article
Helping Hands: A Cost-Effectiveness Study of a Humanitarian Hand Surgery Mission
| (a) Team costs |
| | | Value (USD) in 2006 | Cumulative inflation rate (2006 to 2013) | Inflation adjusted value (USD) in 2013 | % of total costs |
| | Transportation and lodging | $23,000 | 15.90% | $26,650.34 | 62.2% | | Donated supplies | $14,000 | 15.90% | $16,226.00 | 37.8% | | Total cost | $37,000 | 15.90% | $42,876.34 | |
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| (b) Local personnel salary |
| | | Weekly salary (USD) in 2013 | Number | Weekly cost (USD) | % of total costs |
| | Local surgeon | $345 | 2 | $690 | 45.3% | | Surgical tech. | $185 | 2 | $370 | 24.3% | | Nurse | $185 | 2 | $370 | 24.3% | | Cleaning | $92 | 1 | $92 | 6.0% | | Total cost | | | $1,522 | |
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| (c) Hospital costs |
| | | Weekly cost (USD) in 2013 |
| | Pre- and postoperative medications | $448.84 | | Intraoperative medications | $932 | | Total costs | $1,380.84 |
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| (d) Overall mission cost |
| | | Cost (USD) | % of total costs |
| | Team costs | $42,876.34 | 93.7% | | Local personnel costs | $1,522.00 | 3.3% | | Hospital costs | $1,380.84 | 3.0% | | Total overall costs | $45,779.18 | |
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| (e) Cost-effectiveness metrics |
| | | | If 2 × TC (i.e., doubled) | If 5 × TC |
| | Total cost (TC) | $45,779.18 | $91,558.36 | $228,895.90 | | Cost per patient | $572.24 | $1,144.48 | $2,861.20 | | Cost per DALY averted | $437.80 | $875.32 | $2,188.30* | | | | |
*Still below $3,890 (2 × PCGNI) |
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PCGNI: per capita gross national income.
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