Medical costs of glaucoma and ocular hypertension in Italian referral centres: a prospective study.
OBJECTIVE
This study analyzes the resource utilization and costs of ocular hypertension and glaucoma (staged by severity) in Italian ophthalmology departments.


METHODS
The project was a multi-centre observational study conducted in 17 Italian ophthalmology departments throughout the country. A total of 659 patients were recruited and followed prospectively for 1 year. For the purpose of analysis, the patients were divided into 3 groups according to the severity at onset: ocular hypertension, glaucoma and advanced glaucoma.


RESULTS
The subgroups differed significantly in the main demographic and clinical variables. As expected, greater severity was associated with older mean age and worse visual acuity, and with higher resource consumption and costs. The annual average cost per patient was EUR 788.7 and rose significantly with disease severity (EUR 572.0 for ocular hypertension, EUR 734.3 for glaucoma and EUR 1,054.9 for advanced glaucoma). Drugs and specialist consultations were by far the largest cost components.


CONCLUSIONS
This study offers some information on the medical costs of glaucoma in Italy potentially useful for decision-making in the health care services. Health care resources and costs increased with disease severity.
Koleva
Daniela
D
CESAV, Centre for Health Economics, Mario Negri Institute for Pharmacological Research, Ranica, Italy.
Motterlini
Nicola
N
Schiavone
Mauro
M
Garattini
Livio
L
D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D016527:Drug Costs; D005260:Female; D005901:Glaucoma / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy*; D017048:Health Care Costs; D006295:Health Resources / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy; D008297:Male; D008511:Medicine; D008875:Middle Aged; D009798:Ocular Hypertension / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012017:Referral and Consultation / Q000191:economics; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013038:Specialization; D014792:Visual Acuity