@article{ref1,
title="Economic impact of hand and wrist injuries: health-care costs and productivity costs in a population-based study",
journal="Journal of bone and joint surgery: American volume",
year="2012",
author="de Putter, C. E. and Selles, R. W. and Polinder, S. and Panneman, M. J. M. and Hovius, S. E. R. and van Beeck, Eduard F.",
volume="94",
number="9",
pages="e561-7",
abstract="BACKGROUND: Injuries to the hand and wrist account for approximately 20% of patient visits to emergency departments and may impose a large economic burden. The purpose of this study was to estimate the total health-care costs and productivity costs of injuries to the hand and wrist and to compare them with other important injury groups in a nationwide study. METHODS: Data were retrieved from the Dutch Injury Surveillance System, from the National Hospital Discharge Registry, and from a patient follow-up survey conducted between 2007 and 2008. Injury incidence, health-care costs, and productivity costs (due to absenteeism) were calculated by age group, sex, and different subgroups of injuries. An incidence-based cost model was used to estimate the health-care costs of injuries. Follow-up data on return to work rates were incorporated into the absenteeism model for estimating the productivity costs. RESULTS: Hand and wrist injuries annually account for $740 million (in U.S. dollars) and rank first in the order of most expensive injury types, before knee and lower limb fractures ($562 million), hip fractures ($532 million), and skull-brain injury ($355 million). Productivity costs contributed more to the total costs of hand and wrist injuries (56%) than did direct health-care costs. Within the overall group of hand and wrist injuries, hand and finger fractures are the most expensive group ($278 million), largely due to high productivity costs in the age group of twenty to sixty-four years ($192 million). CONCLUSIONS: Hand and wrist injuries not only constitute a substantial part of all treated injuries but also represent a considerable economic burden, with both high health-care and productivity costs. Hand and wrist injuries should be a priority area for research in trauma care, and further research could help to reduce the cost of these injuries, both to the health-care system and to society.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0021-9355",
doi="10.2106/JBJS.K.00561",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.2106/JBJS.K.00561"
}