Economic burden of irritable bowel syndrome in China

AIM To estimate annual direct and indirect costs for patients diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome(IBS) and subtypes.METHODS Patients completed a standardized questionnaire concerning usage of healthcare resources, travel costs, meals, and productivity loss of patients when seeking treatment for IBS. Total annual costs per patient were calculated as the sum of direct(including medical and nonmedical) and indirect costs. Total annual costs per patient among various IBS subtypes were compared. Analysis of variance and bootstrapped independent sample t-tests were performed to determine differences between groups after controlling for IBS subtypes.RESULTS A total of 105 IBS patients(64.80% female), mean age of 57.12 years ± 10.31 years), mean disease duration of 4.31 years ± 5.40 years, were included. Total annual costs per patient were estimated as CNy18262.84(USD2933.08). Inpatient and outpatient healthcare use were major cost drivers, accounting for 46.41%and 23.36% of total annual costs, respectively. Productivity loss accounted for 25.32% of total annual costs. The proportions of direct and indirect costs were similarto published studies in other countries. Nationally, the total costs of managing IBS would amount to CNy123.83 billion(USD1.99 billion). Among the IBS subtypes, total annual costs per patient of IBS-M was highest at CNy18891.18(USD3034). Furthermore, there was significant difference in productivity loss among IBS subtypes(P = 0.031).CONCLUSION IBS imposes a huge economic burden on patients and healthcare systems, which could account for 3.3% of the total healthcare budget for the entire Chinese nation. More than two-thirds of total annual costs of IBS consist of inpatient and outpatient healthcare use. Among the subtypes, IBS-M patients appear to have the greatest economic burden but require further confirmation.

2016—2020年全国患者分流的经济学效益预测

目的:预测2016—2020年,全国三级和二级医院门诊和住院患者分流后能节省的直接医药费用。方法:使用直线趋势外推法,根据2006—2015年公立一级、二级、三级医院门诊人次数、入院人数、门诊病人次均诊疗费用、住院病人人均住院费用预测2016—2020年相应的人次数和费用。将不同机构病人的可分流比例分别取10%、20%、30%,计算分流后能够节省的直接医药费用。结果:若2016—2020年卫生服务利用趋势与2006—2020年一致,三级医院将保持门诊费用与患者人数的快速增长;若分别分流10%、20%、30%三级与二级医院的患者至二级和一级医疗机构,能节省费用总额的8%、16%、24%。结论:要控制医疗费用的增长,需引导患者合理就诊,加强二级医疗卫生机构能力建设,同时医疗卫生服务体系建设应适应分流比例。