Patient Characteristics and Clinical Outcomes of Patients with Liver Cancer in a Tertiary-Care Hospital in Malaysia

Abstract

The study was cross sectional study. The patients were randomly selected by taking the 6th patient in the treatment / dispensing queue, to participate in the study. 25 patients per day were randomly selected out of the 98 patients who were receiving chemotherapy. The study population was of 385 patients . Results: The cost of medicines supplied by government, donations and out of pocket cost were Shs. 103,000,000 (€ 26,410), Shs.153,000,000 (€ 39,230) and Shs.30,700,000 (€ 7,871) respectively. The proportions of the frequency of out-of-pocket costs were found to be 109 (28.3%), donations was found to cover 24 (6.2%) and government was found to be 357 (92.7%) of the medicines used at the Uganda Cancer Institute. ConClusions: The cost of donated medicines is high. It serves a small number of patients who seek care. While Uganda Cancer Institute dispenses cancer medicines to all patients free of charge, low availability leads to patients to purchase medicine in private Pharmacies. Some medicines cost a lot of money, leading to high patients' expenditure and some patients do not buy at all. Progress will require a multi-faceted approach, as well as review of policies and regulations in place that focus on the availability and accessibility of cancer medicines in Uganda.