Health care utilisation following hospitalisation for transport-related injury

Transport injuries are a substantial cause of disability and death internationally. There is little published information regarding patterns of healthcare utilisation following transport injury.

To investigate patterns of in-hospital and post-discharge healthcare use following transport injury.

Analysis of all accepted adult claims from the database of the transport accident compensation regulator in Victoria, Australia between 1995 and 2008. The analyses focused on injuries resulting in hospitalisation. Indicators of in-hospital and post-discharge healthcare utilisation (e.g. number of services per practitioner group) within the first 12-months were summarised.

More than a third (33.6%, n = 68,639) of all accepted compensable transport injuries resulted in admission to an acute care facility within 28 days of injury. In this group, the compensation authority paid for a total of 4.5 million healthcare services in the 12 months post-discharge (median of 19 services per claim). Services provided by medical practitioners were accessed by nearly all claimants (95.7%) at a median of 11 (5-26) per claimant. Less than half of claimants (46.7%) accessed paramedical or allied health services but the median number of services accessed was higher at 29 (9-82) per claimant.

Transport-related injury cases require a substantial interaction with multiple components of the healthcare system in the year following hospital discharge. Compensation system data may provide a detailed understanding of healthcare utilisation, a key element of injury burden.