A Monte Carlo simulation approach for estimating the health and economic impact of interventions provided at a student-run clinic

BACKGROUND: Student Run Clinics (SRCs) are a common aspect of medical education, present at more than half of US medical schools, and noted for providing care to communities that might otherwise lack access, including the uninsured and underinsured. To date, few studies have rigorously quantified the health and economic benefits of SRCs, and the present study remedies that. METHODS AND FINDINGS: We used Monte Carlo simulations to estimate the health impact of common preventive health interventions applied to individuals in quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs). We then used those measurements to estimate the health and economic impact of United Community Clinic (UCC), a student-run clinic in Philadelphia, PA. We found that with an annual operating budget of $50,000, UCC saves 6.5 QALYs, corresponding to over $850,000 saved. CONCLUSIONS: Using Monte Carlo simulation methods, the health and economic impact of SRCs can be reasonably estimated to demonstrate the utility of SRCs and justify their growing importance in the healthcare delivery landscape of the US.