PERH chief warns treatment cuts will drive up costs

Cutting treatment funding limits hospitals’ ability to treat patients early and can lead to higher costs when their conditions worsen and they need emergency care, Agris Peedu, head of the North Estonia Medical Centre (PERH), told ERR.

Peedu said hospitals were seeing more patients with chronic conditions returning for care, while there were too few appointments for people seeking an initial assessment of symptoms and the tests or procedures they may need.

Without timely treatment, patients’ health can deteriorate until they need emergency medical care or an ambulance, he said. The number of ambulances arriving at PERH has risen by 1,000 compared with the previous year, and the hospital’s emergency patient numbers have increased by more than 52 percent, Peedu said.

Emergency cases must be treated regardless of whether the hospital has funding for them, he said, leaving less money for planned care and contributing to longer waiting lists. The average payment per treatment case has been falling even as input costs rise, forcing the hospital to reduce the number of cases it can offer.

Peedu said the Estonian Health Insurance Fund pays a lower rate for treatment beyond the hospital’s contracted volume. PERH has consequently lost a few million euros a year, with some such cases reimbursed at only 30 percent of their cost, he said.

The funding shortfall is limiting the hospital’s ability to invest in buildings and medical equipment, Peedu said. He said investment in advanced technology was essential as medical technology continues to advance.