TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2009//
TI  - 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
JO  - Medical journal of Australia
A1  - O'Connor, T. Michael
A1  - Hanks, Heather A.
A1  - Elcock, Mark S.
A1  - Turner, Richard C.
A1  - Veitch, Craig
SP  - 54
EP  - 56
VL  - 190
IS  - 2
N2  - OBJECTIVE: To estimate costs of retrieval, transport and acute medical services associated with road crashes in northern Queensland from March 2004 to June 2007. DESIGN, SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: Case study of 696 people aged 16 years or older who had been involved in a road crash in the study area (all areas north and west of Bowen, excluding the urban areas of Townsville and Cairns) and had been admitted to hospital for a minimum of 24 hours after the crash. Data on mode of retrieval, acute care provided and total costs were obtained for each patient. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Method of retrieval or transport; length of stay in intensive care unit (ICU) and/or hospital for each patient; costs of retrieval, transport and inhospital care. RESULTS: Retrieval data were collected for 614 of the 696 study participants (88%). Most primary retrievals (446; 73%) occurred by road. More than half of interhospital transfers were undertaken by fixed or rotary wing services. Casualties in the study occupied a total of 6360 bed-days, of which 734 were ICU bed-days. The total retrieval, transport and acute hospital care costs of road crash victims in northern Queensland over the study period were calculated to be approximately $10.4 million. CONCLUSION: The costs associated with rural and remote road crashes in northern Queensland represent a considerable economic burden.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 0025-729X
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/
ID  - ref1
ER  -