title: The costs of heart failure in Poland from the public payer's perspective. Polish programme assessing diagnostic procedures, treatment and costs in patients with heart failure in randomly selected outpatient clinics and hospitals at different levels of care: POLKARD.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Heart failure (HF) is a chronic disease of great clinical and economic significance for both the healthcare system and patients themselves.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To determine the consumption of medical resources for treatment and care of HF patients and to estimate the related costs.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study involved 400 primary care practices and 396 specialist outpatient clinics, as well as 259 hospitals at all reference levels. The sample was representative and supplemented with patient interview data. Based on the consumption of particular resources and the unit costs of services in 2011, costs of care for HF patients in Poland were estimated. Separate analyses were conducted depending on the stage of the disease (according to NYHA classification I-IV). The public payer's perspective and a one year time horizon were adopted.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Direct annual costs of an HF patient's treatment in Poland may range between PLN 3,373.23 and 7,739.49 (2011), the main cost item being hospitalisation. The total costs for the healthcare system could be as high as PLN 1,703 million, which is 3.16% of the National Health Fund's budget (Ex. rate from 05.03.2012: 1 EUR = 4.14 PLN).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The costs of treating heart failure in Poland are high; proper allocation of resources to diagnostic procedures and treatment may contribute to rationalisation of the relevant expenditure.
authors.affiliation: 1Department of Pharmacoeconomics, Medical University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland. marcin.czech@wum.edu.pl
authors.forename: Marcin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Czech
authors.forename: Grzegorz
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Opolski
authors.forename: Tomasz
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Zdrojewski
authors.forename: Jacek S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Dubiel
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Wizner
authors.forename: Dorota
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Bolisęga
authors.forename: Małgorzata
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fedyk-Łukasik
authors.forename: Tomasz
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Grodzicki
mesh_terms: D000554:Ambulatory Care Facilities / Q000191:economics* / Q000458:organization & administration; D013504:Cardiovascular Surgical Procedures / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D017281:Cost of Illness; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D003935:Diagnostic Techniques, Cardiovascular / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D016527:Drug Costs / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D017048:Health Care Costs; D005102:Health Expenditures; D006295:Health Resources / Q000191:economics* / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000191:economics* / Q000628:therapy; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000191:economics*; D006792:House Calls / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D011044:Poland; D011320:Primary Health Care / Q000191:economics / Q000458:organization & administration