Prevalence of HIV infection and cost of medical follow-up for asymptomatic seropositive patients followed in general practice in France.
To estimate the number of HIV patients followed by general practitioners and the average cost of their medical care, a questionnaire was mailed to 500 general practitioners of the French Communicable Diseases Network (1% sample, representative of French general practitioners). They were asked the number of HIV seropositive patients detected in 1987, the number of HIV positive asymptomatic patients regularly followed, the number of consultations and the type of biological and clinical examinations prescribed. The response rate was 78%. During the past year 29% of practitioners were caring for one or more infected patients. The mean number of HIV seropositive patients known per general practitioner was 1.37 corresponding to an estimated 69,000 +/- 3000 cases, (mean +/- S.D.) for France. The mean number of HIV seropositive patients diagnosed in 1987 was 0.60 per general practitioner (30,000 +/- 2000 cases) and the mean number of HIV seropositive patients followed regularly was 0.89 per general practitioner (45,000 +/- 2500 cases). Two-thirds of HIV seropositive patients were regular patients of general practitioners. The mean number of visits per patient was 3.6 per year. Biological examinations regularly prescribed were blood count, CD4/CD8 ratio, lymphocyte counts, thrombocyte counts, HBs antigen detection and HIV antigen detection. Average costs were 523 +/- 18 FF for the first visit and 446 +/- 36 FF for subsequent examinations. In total, the average cost of general practitioner visits per patient per year have been estimated at 2,288 +/- 251 FF (380 +/- 42 US$).
Massari
V
V
Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, Université Paris.
Fagnani
F
F
Landman
R
R
Valleron
A J
AJ
D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D005194:Family Practice / Q000191:economics* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005602:France / Q000453:epidemiology; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000191:economics* / Q000453:epidemiology; D006679:HIV Seropositivity / Q000191:economics / Q000453:epidemiology; D017048:Health Care Costs / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D010821:Physicians, Family / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians' / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires