Utilization and out of pocket (OOP) payment for physiotherapy services in public hospitals of Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences

Background: Physiotherapy services constitute a principle part of health care systems, and interest in their use has increased in the recent decades. This study was conducted to investigate the utilization and OOP payment for physiotherapy services in public hospitals of Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences in Tehran, Iran. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted using the data of physiotherapy department of three public hospitals. The study sample included 6528 patients who had received 7257 episodes of care. Data were extracted through hospital information systems and analyzed using multivariate regression analysis by SPSS17. Results: The average episode per patient was 1.11 and 12.6 session per episode. The average cost of each episode and treatment session was 1 784 660 IRR (USD 59) and 142 023 IRR (USD 4.7), respectively. The OOP payment share for physiotherapy was 31%. Age, OOP amount, having insurance coverage, insurance type, and service type significantly affected physiotherapy utilization. Number of treatment sessions, having insurance coverage, type of insurance coverage, and gender were related to OOP payment. Conclusion: There is a large variety in utilization and OOP payment in the insurance funds, which could restrict the accessibility and utilization of services by patients, leading to inequalities in utilization. Therefore, policymakers should conduct an overall review on the tariffs and service packages of insurer organizations to provide better conditions for the elderly, unhealthy, and vulnerable population to mitigate inequality in service utilization and decrease OOP payment.