Health care costs attributable to the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis.
OBJECTIVE
A 'programme budget' for the resources used in the treatment and care of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) was developed with a view of helping decision-makers assess the appropriateness of the current use of resources and to discuss future resource allocation.


METHODS
The programme budget was developed using data from several national administrative registers. Patients with RA were identified by hospital diagnostic codes. The incremental cost of treating RA was defined as the difference in resource use for patients with and without RA. Incremental mortality due to RA was defined in similar way. Cost data were estimated for 5-year age groups.


RESULTS
Patients with RA used on average 3.2 times as many health care resources as people without RA. The average 1997 incremental costs of primary and hospital care were EUR 253 and EUR 2.660 per patient respectively, corresponding to a national incremental cost of EUR 30 million (2000 price level). RA resulted in an annual loss of 1,549 life years.


CONCLUSIONS
The programme budget approach is a useful tool in resource allocation decision-making, but discussions of alternative resource allocations must be based on robust studies of effectiveness and cost-effectiveness in the treatment of patients with RA.
Sørensen
J
J
CAST - Centre for Applied Health Services Research and Technology Assessment, University of Southern Denmark, Odense Denmark. jas@cast.sdu.dk
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000191:economics* / Q000401:mortality / Q000628:therapy*; D017046:Cost Savings; D017281:Cost of Illness; D003718:Denmark; D005260:Female; D017048:Health Care Costs; D006295:Health Resources / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016730:Program Development; D015397:Program Evaluation; D012042:Registries; D012307:Risk Factors; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D018434:Sickness Impact Profile; D015996:Survival Rate