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Direct Health Care Costs of Diabetic Patients in Spain

¹ Department of Economics, University Carlos III de Madrid, Getafe, Madrid, Spain
² Seminario de Estudios Sociales de la Salud y los Medicamentos (SESAM), University Carlos III de Madrid, Getafe, Madrid, Spain
² Section of Endocrinology, Hospital of Getafe, Madrid, Spain

Address correspondencereprint requests to Juan Oliva, Departamento de Economía, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, Calle Madrid, 126, 28903 Getafe, Spain. E-mail: joliva{at}eco.uc3m.es

OBJECTIVE—The goal of this study was to estimate the health care resources spent by type 1 and type 2 diabetic patients in Spain during the year 2002.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS—This is a cost-of-illness study focusing on direct health care costs estimated from primary and secondary sources of information. A prevalence of diabetes ranging from 5 to 6% of the adult population was determined. Total cost is composed of six items: insulin and oral hypoglycemic agents, other drugs, disposable and consumable goods (glucose test strips, needles, and syringes), hospitalization, primary care visits, and visits to endocrinologists and dialysis.

RESULTS—The estimated direct cost of diabetes in 2002 ranges from 2.4 to 2.67 billion. Hospital costs were the most (933 million), followed by noninsulin, nonhypoglycemic agent drugs (777–932 million). Much lower are the costs of insulin and oral hypoglycemic agents (311 million), primary care visits (181–272 million), specialized visits (127–145 million), and disposable elements (70–81 million). Expenditures for all drugs and consumable goods ranged between 1.16 and 1.3 billion, representing 48–49% of total cost, which is 15% higher than hospital costs.

CONCLUSIONS—The direct health care costs of diabetic patients are high (6.3–7.4% of total National Health System expenditure). Their average annual cost is 1,290–1,476. For individuals without diabetes, the average annual cost is 865.

Abbreviations: CMBD, Conjunto Mínimo Básico de Datos • DRG, diagnosis-related group • SNS, Spain’s National Health System

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