Introduction. Over the last several years, during the economic crisis, the
Ministry of Health and the Republican Health Insurance Fund (RHIF) have been
faced with new challenges in the sphere of healthcare services financing both
in the primary as well as other types of health insurance in the Republic of
Serbia (RS). Objective. Analysis of cost?effectiveness of two models of
organization of home treatment and healthcare in the primary insurance, with
evaluation of the cost sustainability of a single visit by the in?home
therapy team. Methods. Economic evaluation of the cost of home treatment and
healthcare provision in 2011 was performed. In statistical analysis, the
methods of descriptive statistics were employed. The structure of fixed costs
of home healthcare was developed according to the RS official norms, as well
as fixed costs of providing services of home therapy by the Healthcare Centre
"New Belgrade". The statement of account for provided home therapy services
was made utilizing the RHIF price list. Results. The results showed that the
cost of home healthcare and therapy of the heterogeneous population of
patients in the Healthcare Centre "New Belgrade" was more cost?effective in
relation to the cost of providing home therapy services according to the RS
official norms. Conclusion. Approved costs utilized when making a contract
for services of home therapy and healthcare with the RHIF are not financially
sustainable. It was shown that the price of 10 EUR for each home visit by the
in?home therapy team enables sustainability of this form of providing
healthcare services in RS.
Financial sustainability of home care in the health system of the Republic of Serbia
