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Inverting the healthcare pyramid: building synergies between outpatient care and inpatient hospitalisation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 June 2025

Shreya Bagrodia*
Affiliation:
Mercer Marsh Benefits, Mumbai, India
Sushant Mallya
Affiliation:
Mercer Marsh Benefits, Mumbai, India
*
Corresponding author: Shreya Bagrodia; Email: shreyab92@gmail.com
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Abstract

The efficient integration of outpatient (OPD) and inpatient (IPD) care is a critical challenge in modern healthcare, essential for maximising patient-centred care and resource utilisation. OPD, encompassing preventive services, routine check-ups, and chronic disease management, aims to minimise the need for hospitalisations. Conversely, IPD remains crucial for acute interventions and complex medical needs. This paper investigates the nuanced relationship between OPD and IPD: specifically, we seek to determine if increased OPD utilisation while improving overall health, leads to a reduction or increase in subsequent IPD utilisation, duration, and associated costs. We analyse anonymised data from Indian organisations providing company-sponsored OPD and IPD insurance to their employees between 2021 and 2024. By examining the correlation between OPD utilisation patterns and IPD outcomes, we aim to provide data-driven insights for effective healthcare integration strategies. Furthermore, we explore the feasibility of developing a personalised “Wellbeing Rating” derived from longitudinal OPD insurance utilisation data. This automated methodology aims to provide a continuous, dynamic health assessment, moving beyond the limitations of traditional, sporadic medical examinations by leveraging the comprehensive data inherent within insured OPD coverage.

Information

Type
Sessional Paper
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of The Institute and Faculty of Actuaries
Figure 0

Figure 1. Benefit wise family utilisation.

Figure 1

Figure 2. Benefit-wise utilisation in terms of claims count.

Figure 2

Figure 3. IPD claims count distribution with basis OPD benefits utilisation.

Figure 3

Figure 4. IPD incurred claims outgo distribution with basis OPD benefits utilisation.

Figure 4

Figure 5. Hospital length of stay with basis OPD benefits utilisation.

Figure 5

Figure 6. Cost per claim with basis OPD benefits utilisation.