Eugene Kim1, Hye-Young Kwon2, Sang Hong Baek3, Haeyoung Lee4, Byung-Su Yoo5, Seok-Min Kang6, Youngkeun Ahn7, Bong-Min Yang1. 1. a Graduate School of Public Health , Seoul National University , Seoul , South Korea. 2. b Division of Biology & Public Health , Mokwon University , Daejeon , South Korea. 3. c Department of Cardiovascular , The Catholic University of Korea Seoul, St. Mary's Hospital , Seoul , South Korea. 4. d Department of Internal Medicine , Seoul National University Hospital , Division of Cardiology , Seoul , South Korea. 5. e Division of Cardiology, Department of Internal Medicine , Yonsei University , Wonju College of Medicine , Gangwon-Do , South Korea. 6. f Division of Cardiology, Department of Internal Medicine , Yonsei University , Seoul , South Korea. 7. g Department of Cardiology , Cheonnam National University , Gwangju , South Korea.
Abstract
AIMS: This study investigated annual medical costs using real-world data focusing on acute heart failure. METHODS: The data were retrospectively collected from six tertiary hospitals in South Korea. Overall, 330 patients who were hospitalized for acute heart failure between January 2011 and July 2012 were selected. Data were collected on their follow-up medical visits for 1 year, including medical costs incurred toward treatment. Those who died within the observational period or who had no records of follow-up visits were excluded. Annual per patient medical costs were estimated according to the type of medical services, and factors contributing to the costs using Gamma Generalized Linear Models (GLM) with log link were analyzed. RESULTS: On average, total annual medical costs for each patient were USD 6,199 (±9,675), with hospitalization accounting for 95% of the total expenses. Hospitalization cost USD 5,904 (±9,666) per patient. Those who are re-admitted have 88.5% higher medical expenditure than those who have not been re-admitted in 1 year, and patients using intensive care units have 19.6% higher expenditure than those who do not. When the number of hospital days increased by 1 day, medical expenses increased by 6.7%. LIMITATIONS: Outpatient drug costs were not included. There is a possibility that medical expenses for AHF may have been under-estimated. CONCLUSION: It was found that hospitalization resulted in substantial costs for treatment of heart failure in South Korea, especially in patients with an acute heart failure event. Prevention strategies and appropriate management programs that would reduce both frequency of hospitalization and length of stay for patients with the underlying risk of heart failure are needed.
AIMS: This study investigated annual medical costs using real-world data focusing on acute heart failure. METHODS: The data were retrospectively collected from six tertiary hospitals in South Korea. Overall, 330 patients who were hospitalized for acute heart failure between January 2011 and July 2012 were selected. Data were collected on their follow-up medical visits for 1 year, including medical costs incurred toward treatment. Those who died within the observational period or who had no records of follow-up visits were excluded. Annual per patient medical costs were estimated according to the type of medical services, and factors contributing to the costs using Gamma Generalized Linear Models (GLM) with log link were analyzed. RESULTS: On average, total annual medical costs for each patient were USD 6,199 (±9,675), with hospitalization accounting for 95% of the total expenses. Hospitalization cost USD 5,904 (±9,666) per patient. Those who are re-admitted have 88.5% higher medical expenditure than those who have not been re-admitted in 1 year, and patients using intensive care units have 19.6% higher expenditure than those who do not. When the number of hospital days increased by 1 day, medical expenses increased by 6.7%. LIMITATIONS: Outpatient drug costs were not included. There is a possibility that medical expenses for AHF may have been under-estimated. CONCLUSION: It was found that hospitalization resulted in substantial costs for treatment of heart failure in South Korea, especially in patients with an acute heart failure event. Prevention strategies and appropriate management programs that would reduce both frequency of hospitalization and length of stay for patients with the underlying risk of heart failure are needed.
Entities:
Keywords:
Acute heart failure; healthcare costs; heart failure; intensive care unit; length of stay
Authors: Min Ji Kwak; Rafia Rasu; Robert O Morgan; Jessica Lee; Nahid J Rianon; Holly M Holmes; Abhijeet Dhoble; Dae Hyun Kim Journal: J Health Econ Outcomes Res Date: 2020-10-05