A snapshot of noncommunicable disease profiles and their prescription costs at ten primary healthcare facilities in the in the western half of the Cape Town Metropole

Objectives: There has been a rapid increase in the prevalence of noncommunicable diseases globally. It is thought that this increase will have the greatest impact on developing countries, such as South Africa, where it will adversely affect quality of life and increase healthcare costs. This researc...

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Main Authors: A.A. Isaacs, N. Manga, C. Le Grange, D.A. Hellenberg, V. Titus, R. Sayed
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: AOSIS 2014-02-01
Series:South African Family Practice
Subjects:
Online Access:https://safpj.co.za/index.php/safpj/article/view/3711
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author A.A. Isaacs
N. Manga
C. Le Grange
D.A. Hellenberg
V. Titus
R. Sayed
author_facet A.A. Isaacs
N. Manga
C. Le Grange
D.A. Hellenberg
V. Titus
R. Sayed
author_sort A.A. Isaacs
collection DOAJ
description Objectives: There has been a rapid increase in the prevalence of noncommunicable diseases globally. It is thought that this increase will have the greatest impact on developing countries, such as South Africa, where it will adversely affect quality of life and increase healthcare costs. This research was conducted to determine the disease profile and cost of treating patients at 10 facilities in the western half of the Cape Town Metropole. Design: An analytical, cross-sectional study was carried out in order to interpret the cost of the medication in relation to the patient disease profile. Setting and subjects: Data were collected from 10 facilities in the western half of the Cape Town Metropole over a three-month period. Outcome measure: The outcome measure was the disease profile of patients attending the facilities and the cost of prescriptions for these patients. Results: Most patient visits to the community health centres were to treat chronic diseases (82%). The disease profile of patients was as follows: 58.96% had hypertension, 19.67% diabetes, 12.14% asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and 21.80% arthritis. It was found that 65% of patients with a chronic condition had co-morbidities. The cost of prescriptions was significantly higher (p-value 0.001) for chronic conditions than for acute conditions. The number of comorbidities per patient also influenced the cost of the prescriptions. Conclusion: The results indicated that most of the adults attending public sector facilities in the western half of the Cape Town Metropole have chronic diseases and that the cost of treating these conditions is significantly greater than that of treating acute conditions. An integrated approach to the management of chronic diseases is important in low-resource settings for the efficient utilisation of limited resources.
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spelling doaj-art-c87a7dd62f70434db69ba001c9e1c3bd2025-08-20T04:03:13ZengAOSISSouth African Family Practice2078-61902078-62042014-02-0156110.1080/20786204.2014.108445824866A snapshot of noncommunicable disease profiles and their prescription costs at ten primary healthcare facilities in the in the western half of the Cape Town MetropoleA.A. Isaacs0N. Manga1C. Le Grange2D.A. Hellenberg3V. Titus4R. Sayed5Metro District Health Services, Western CapeDivision of Family Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape TownDivision of Family Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape TownDivision of Family Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape TownMetro District Health Services, Western Cape,Division of Family Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape TownObjectives: There has been a rapid increase in the prevalence of noncommunicable diseases globally. It is thought that this increase will have the greatest impact on developing countries, such as South Africa, where it will adversely affect quality of life and increase healthcare costs. This research was conducted to determine the disease profile and cost of treating patients at 10 facilities in the western half of the Cape Town Metropole. Design: An analytical, cross-sectional study was carried out in order to interpret the cost of the medication in relation to the patient disease profile. Setting and subjects: Data were collected from 10 facilities in the western half of the Cape Town Metropole over a three-month period. Outcome measure: The outcome measure was the disease profile of patients attending the facilities and the cost of prescriptions for these patients. Results: Most patient visits to the community health centres were to treat chronic diseases (82%). The disease profile of patients was as follows: 58.96% had hypertension, 19.67% diabetes, 12.14% asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and 21.80% arthritis. It was found that 65% of patients with a chronic condition had co-morbidities. The cost of prescriptions was significantly higher (p-value 0.001) for chronic conditions than for acute conditions. The number of comorbidities per patient also influenced the cost of the prescriptions. Conclusion: The results indicated that most of the adults attending public sector facilities in the western half of the Cape Town Metropole have chronic diseases and that the cost of treating these conditions is significantly greater than that of treating acute conditions. An integrated approach to the management of chronic diseases is important in low-resource settings for the efficient utilisation of limited resources.https://safpj.co.za/index.php/safpj/article/view/3711noncommunicable diseasesprescriptionsprimary health carecostsco-morbidity
spellingShingle A.A. Isaacs
N. Manga
C. Le Grange
D.A. Hellenberg
V. Titus
R. Sayed
A snapshot of noncommunicable disease profiles and their prescription costs at ten primary healthcare facilities in the in the western half of the Cape Town Metropole
South African Family Practice
noncommunicable diseases
prescriptions
primary health care
costs
co-morbidity
title A snapshot of noncommunicable disease profiles and their prescription costs at ten primary healthcare facilities in the in the western half of the Cape Town Metropole
title_full A snapshot of noncommunicable disease profiles and their prescription costs at ten primary healthcare facilities in the in the western half of the Cape Town Metropole
title_fullStr A snapshot of noncommunicable disease profiles and their prescription costs at ten primary healthcare facilities in the in the western half of the Cape Town Metropole
title_full_unstemmed A snapshot of noncommunicable disease profiles and their prescription costs at ten primary healthcare facilities in the in the western half of the Cape Town Metropole
title_short A snapshot of noncommunicable disease profiles and their prescription costs at ten primary healthcare facilities in the in the western half of the Cape Town Metropole
title_sort snapshot of noncommunicable disease profiles and their prescription costs at ten primary healthcare facilities in the in the western half of the cape town metropole
topic noncommunicable diseases
prescriptions
primary health care
costs
co-morbidity
url https://safpj.co.za/index.php/safpj/article/view/3711
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