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Abstract #19592 Published in IGR 9-3
Medical costs of glaucoma and ocular hypertension in Italian referral centres: a prospective study
Koleva D; Motterlini N; Schiavone M; Garattini LOphthalmologica 2007; 221: 340-347
AIM: 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 € 788.7 and rose significantly with disease severity (€ 572.0 for ocular hypertension, € 734.3 for glaucoma and € 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.
Dr. D. Koleva, CESAV, Centre for Health Economics, Mario Negri Institute for Pharmacological Research, Ranica, Italy
Classification:
14 Costing studies; pharmacoeconomics