{"title":"Characterizing the role of informal payments in the delivery of pathology and clinical laboratory services.","authors":"Emily H Glynn, Timothy Amukele, Olusegun Soge, Geoffrey Baird, Taryn Vian","doi":"10.1093/ajcp/aqad188","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>Informal payments (IPs) are unofficial cash or in-kind payments for goods or services that should be covered by the health care system. They are a common but regressive method of financing health care in low- and lower-middle-income countries (LMICs). This study aims to characterize the prevalence and impact of IPs on pathology and laboratory medicine (PALM) services.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>From September 2021 to September 2022, PALM staff were surveyed about the frequency, determinants, and impacts of IPs in their respective workplaces.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>In total, 268 responses were received, and 46.6% (125/268) reported experience with IPs. These 125 participants were more likely to work in the public sector and in LMICs. Approximately 65% reported accepting IPs to perform tests or release results. Obtaining faster results was the most commonly perceived reason for patients offering IPs. Overall, participants reported that IPs had more negative than positive impacts on their workplace.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>This represents a first step in characterizing IPs within PALM and how this practice may affect access to these services in LMICs. Specifically, the fact that faster turnaround time was the most frequently perceived reason for offering IPs uncovers a potential barrier to improving PALM capacity in these regions.</p>","PeriodicalId":7506,"journal":{"name":"American journal of clinical pathology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.3000,"publicationDate":"2024-06-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"American journal of clinical pathology","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1093/ajcp/aqad188","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"PATHOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Objectives: Informal payments (IPs) are unofficial cash or in-kind payments for goods or services that should be covered by the health care system. They are a common but regressive method of financing health care in low- and lower-middle-income countries (LMICs). This study aims to characterize the prevalence and impact of IPs on pathology and laboratory medicine (PALM) services.
Methods: From September 2021 to September 2022, PALM staff were surveyed about the frequency, determinants, and impacts of IPs in their respective workplaces.
Results: In total, 268 responses were received, and 46.6% (125/268) reported experience with IPs. These 125 participants were more likely to work in the public sector and in LMICs. Approximately 65% reported accepting IPs to perform tests or release results. Obtaining faster results was the most commonly perceived reason for patients offering IPs. Overall, participants reported that IPs had more negative than positive impacts on their workplace.
Conclusions: This represents a first step in characterizing IPs within PALM and how this practice may affect access to these services in LMICs. Specifically, the fact that faster turnaround time was the most frequently perceived reason for offering IPs uncovers a potential barrier to improving PALM capacity in these regions.
期刊介绍:
The American Journal of Clinical Pathology (AJCP) is the official journal of the American Society for Clinical Pathology and the Academy of Clinical Laboratory Physicians and Scientists. It is a leading international journal for publication of articles concerning novel anatomic pathology and laboratory medicine observations on human disease. AJCP emphasizes articles that focus on the application of evolving technologies for the diagnosis and characterization of diseases and conditions, as well as those that have a direct link toward improving patient care.