Financial toxicity part II: A practical guide to measuring and tracking long-term financial outcomes among acute care surgery patients

Abstract

Acute care surgery (ACS) patients are frequently faced with significant long-term recovery and financial implications that extend far beyond their hospitalization. While major injury and emergency general surgery (EGS) emergencies are often viewed solely as acute moments of crisis, the impact on patients can be lifelong. Financial outcomes after major injury or emergency surgery have only begun to be understood. The Healthcare Economics Committee from the American Association for the Surgery of Trauma (AAST) previously published a conceptual overview of financial toxicity in acute care surgery, highlighting the association between financial outcomes and long-term physical recovery. The aims of second phase financial toxicity review by the Healthcare Economics Committee of the AAST are to (i) understand the unique impact of financial toxicity on acute care surgery patients; (ii) delineate the current limitations surrounding measurement domains of financial toxicity in ACS; (iii) explore the “when, what and how” of optimally capturing financial outcomes in ACS; and (iv) delineate next steps for integration of these financial metrics in our long-term patient outcomes. As acute care surgeons, our patients’ recovery is often contingent on equal parts physical, emotional and financial recovery. The ACS community has an opportunity to impact long-term patient outcomes and well-being far beyond clinical recovery.