Comparing costs and timing of ankle sprain care in two first-tier care systems

To compare the costs of care and the opportunity of care for the management of grade I-II ankle sprain in two Family Medicine Units, one with rehabilitation service (FMU 13) and one without rehabilitation service (FMU 41).

Observational analytical study, records with diagnosis of grade I-II ankle sprain attended at the FMU were included January-November 2021. Consultations were recorded in the emergency department, family medicine, rehabilitation, cabinet studies and time to grant the appointment in the rehabilitation service (opportunity of care), the Mann-Whitney U test was used to compare costs of care and timeliness of care.

In FMU 41, care costs were higher compared to FMU 13 ($13,990 vs $8,063); however, this difference was not significant, as was the cost of care in family medicine, rehabilitation, and opportunity of care.

The costs of care and the opportunity of care were similar in both models of care (FMU 13-FMU 41) of grade I-II ankle sprain.