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Background Data on the economic consequences of occupational injuries is scarce in developing countries which prevents the recognition of their economic and social consequences. This study assess the direct heath care costs of work-related accidents in the Mexican Institute of Social Security, the largest health care institution in Latin America, which covered 12,735,856 workers and their families in 2005. Methods We estimated the cost of treatment for 295,594 officially reported occupational injuries nation wide. A group of medical experts devised treatment algorithms to quantify resource utilization for occupational injuries to which unit costs were applied. Total costs were estimated as the product of the cost per illness and the severity weighted incidence of occupational accidents. Results Occupational injury rate was 2.9 per 100 workers. Average medical care cost per case was $2,059 USD. The total cost of the health care of officially recognized injured workers was $753,420,222 USD. If injury rate is corrected for underreporting, the cost for formal injured workers is 791,216,460. If the same costs are applied for informal workers, approximately half of the working population in Mexico, the cost of healthcare for occupational injuries is about 1% of the gross domestic product. Conclusions Health care costs of occupational accidents are similar to the economic direct expenditures to compensate death and disability in the social security system in Mexico. However, indirect costs might be as important as direct costs. Am. J. Ind. Med. 52:195-201, 2009.
Fernando Carlos-Rivera MScE1 Guadalupe Aguilar-Madrid MD Dr PH2 Pablo Anaya Gómez-Montenegro MHA1 Cuauhtémoc A. Juárez-Pérez MD MSc2 Francisco Raúl Sánchez-Román MD MSc2 Jaqueline E.A. Durcudoy Montandon MSc2 Víctor Hugo Borja-Aburto MD PhD2 *
[1]RAC Salud Consultores, Mexico City, Mexico;[2]Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, Unidad de Investigación en Salud en el Trabajo, Mexico City, Mexico