The costs of hospital-based medical care for patients with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome.

The costs which were incurred by patients for hospital-based care during the time from the diagnosis of the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) to death, range from pounds 6838 in London, England, to US$147,000 in Atlanta, USA. In 1986, a study was undertaken in Sydney to calculate the costs of the hospital-based treatment of patients with AIDS. The medical records of 39 patients who had received all their treatment at one institution were analysed retrospectively, and data were collected on their survival, hospitalizations, investigations and treatments. The mean survival time of the 39 patients was 7.2 months; during this time they had a mean of 4.0 hospital admissions that accounted for an average total stay of 34.6 days. In addition, they made, on average, 9.4 outpatient visits. There was a significant difference in the duration of hospitalization between those who presented with an opportunistic infection and those who presented with a malignancy (38.3 days and 22.4 days, respectively; P = 0.01). The mean cost for hospital-based care was $A22,332 (range, $A4229-$A58,398), of which 95% of costs were incurred for inpatient care. The mean cost of care of those who presented with an opportunistic infection was significantly higher than that of those who presented with a malignancy, but there was no difference according to the age at the time of diagnosis. If the predictions of 3000 cases of AIDS in Australia by 1991 are realized, such cases will represent--conservatively--an additional cost to the community of $A58.5 million. This study emphasizes the need for health authorities to plan for the future financial impact of the hospital-based treatment of patients with AIDS.