Nutrition and Coronary Heart Disease
SWSAHS to conduct such sessions. One full-time clerical staff position has been
allocated to co-ordinate all GP education materials and information sessions.
The costs of patient education materials, the doctor education materials as well as the
costs of the training sessions are costs associated with the GP recruitment phase of the
intervention and are therefore calculated on the basis of 700 GPs in the area.
The remaining costs are considered variable costs and are based on a recruitment
success rate of 70% for GPs and hence only 70% of patients.
Based on the evidence that most people will visit their GP at least once a year (DHFS
1996), the cost to Medicare of this intervention is not the full item fee. Instead, this
intervention is costed on the basis that the initial visit to the GP would have occurred
anyhow. Therefore this analysis has only counted the difference between a short
consultation (level B), and a longer consultation (level C) as a cost directly associated
with the intervention.
Most screening costs (blood pressure, sedentary lifestyle and obesity) are covered by the
consultation expense. The only additional screening costs would be the cost of a blood
cholesterol check. It is assumed that approximately 25% of the target population will be
referred for a cholesterol check, and that each of those patients will receive two
screenings over the twelve-month period. The cost of this intervention includes a
second GP consultation for those people with very high cholesterol readings.
The other major component of this intervention is group-counselling sessions,
conducted by dietitians in the SWSAHS. Costs are based on the assumption that 25 %
of the target population will be referred to group sessions and will participate. Group
sessions are designed to cater for 20-25 people and it is assumed that each full-time
equivalent dietitian can run 2 sessions per day, 5 days per week. A further component
is allowed for training, travel and stationery.
CHERE Project Report 11— November 1999
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