title: Direct medical mental health care costs of schizophrenia in France, Germany and the United Kingdom - findings from the European Schizophrenia Cohort (EuroSC).
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To quantify and compare the resource consumption and direct costs of medical mental health care of patients suffering from schizophrenia in France, Germany and the United Kingdom.
  
  
  METHODS
  In the European Cohort Study of Schizophrenia, a naturalistic two-year follow-up study, patients were recruited in France (N=288), Germany (N=618), and the United Kingdom (N=302). Data about the use of services and medication were collected. Unit cost data were obtained and transformed into United States Dollar Purchasing Power Parities (USD-PPP). Mean service use and costs were estimated using between-effects regression models.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In the French/German/UK sample estimated means for a six-month period were respectively 5.7, 7.5 and 6.4 inpatient days, and 11.0, 1.3, and 0.7 day-clinic days. After controlling for age, sex, number of former hospitalizations and psychopathology (CGI score), mean costs were 3700/2815/3352 USD-PPP.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Service use and estimated costs varied considerably between countries. The greatest differences were related to day-clinic use. The use of services was not consistently higher in one country than in the others. Estimated costs did not necessarily reflect the quantity of service use, since unit costs for individual types of service varied considerably between countries.
authors.affiliation: Health Economic Research Unit, Department of Psychiatry, University of Leipzig, Germany. heidd@medizin.uni-leipzig.de
authors.forename: Dirk
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Heider
authors.forename: Sebastian
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bernert
authors.forename: Hans-Helmut
authors.initials: HH
authors.lastname: König
authors.forename: Herbert
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Matschinger
authors.forename: Theresa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hogh
authors.forename: Traolach S
authors.initials: TS
authors.lastname: Brugha
authors.forename: Paul E
authors.initials: PE
authors.lastname: Bebbington
authors.forename: Michel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Azorin
authors.forename: Matthias C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Angermeyer
authors.forename: Mondher
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Toumi