Direct and indirect cost of percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty.
A prospective study of 53 patients employed in the 6-month period before coronary angioplasty was performed to determine the direct and indirect costs of lag time in work resumption. The total direct costs calculated were $273,480; indirect costs for this sample were $150,944. When these costs are generalized to all patients in the US undergoing uncomplicated percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty, the costs are more than $1.2 billion. This study demonstrated that even in patients with a high a priori probability of work return, delay in work resumption results in a greater cost to the individual and society through absence from the labor force.
Fitzgerald
S T
ST
Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, Md.
Merrill
A
A
Aversano
T
T
Sorkin
A
A
D000328:Adult; D015906:Angioplasty, Balloon, Coronary / Q000191:economics*; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000191:economics / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D017281:Cost of Illness; D003365:Costs and Cost Analysis; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011184:Postoperative Period; D011446:Prospective Studies; D018582:Sick Leave / Q000191:economics* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014938:Work Capacity Evaluation