Would You Go Broke to Stay Alive in Singapore?

Abstract

Aims: This study attempts to explore how high treatment costs can result in people foregoing necessary treatment. Methods: Health care professionals (HCPs) were invited to complete a questionnaire survey, in which they were requested to imagine that they had locally recurrent head and neck cancers. They were then asked to choose a treatment in each of the 3 scenarios, which differed only in the cost of treatment. Results: Majority would choose the cheapest treatment option if treatment costs mirrored that in real life. But majority would opt for the treatment that gave the greatest median survival, if cost was not an issue. Conclusion: High cost of treatment can be a strong deterrent to patients who need and can benefit from those treatments.