Economic Impact of Inflammatory Bowel Disease in Alberta
This paper attempts to estimate the cost of inflammatory bowel disease (IBO) to the health care system of Alberta. In the 1015 patients responding to a questionnaire, two types of direct costs were compared to provincial averages; physicians' fees and hospital costs. Costs were calculated using...
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| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Wiley
1988-01-01
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| Series: | Canadian Journal of Gastroenterology |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/1988/654517 |
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| Summary: | This paper attempts to estimate the cost of inflammatory bowel disease
(IBO) to the health care system of Alberta. In the 1015 patients responding to a
questionnaire, two types of direct costs were compared to provincial averages; physicians'
fees and hospital costs. Costs were calculated using the Alberta Health Care
Insurance Plan prescribed billing races. The 15-to 24-year-old age group exhibited the
highest annual physician fees. This was probably due to the high incidence rate of
IBD in this group. The mean cost per patient-year for Crohn's disease was estimated
to be $4400 and the mean cost for ulcerative colitis was estimated to be $3020; this
did not include outpatient laboratory or radiological investigations, and as such represents
an underestimation of the total costs to the health care system. However, only
a small minority of the patients were using a large majority of the resources: for
example, for both Crohn's and ulcerative colitis, 7% of the patients accounted for
69% of hospital days. The average hospital and physician associated costs declined
markedly with duration of the disease. It is estimated that the future cost of IBO to
the provincial health care system (the percentage of the provincial health care budget
used to diagnose and treat IBO) will double from 1985 to 2000. This underscores
the need for continued and expanded research into the cause and treatment of IBO,
and the importance of maintaining a health care system which can respond to the
needs of these patients. |
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| ISSN: | 0835-7900 |