Evaluating the hospitalization costs for elderly patients in teaching hospitals of Kashan university of medical sciences during 2009-10

Abstract

Background: Considering that hospital costs of the growing elderly population account for a significant share of the health care costs, this study aimed to investigate the elderly hospitalization cost in teaching hospitals of Kashan university of medical sciences. Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 2067 patients (age≥60) admitted to teaching hospitals of Kashan university of medical sciences during a one-year period (Sep. 2009–Sep. 2010) were randomly selected using stratified random sampling. Data related to hospitalization charges of cases were obtained from medical records and analyzed. Results: The mean hospitalization charge was 5533529 Rials. The highest cost share was for "bed-day" (26.4%). The highest average hospitalization cost for different diseases were for digestive, neoplastic and respiratory system, respectively. However, diseases of the eye and circulatory system accounted for the largest share of total hospital costs. Regarding the ward, the highest charges were paid for the elderly patients in ICU and CCU, but internal wards had the largest share of total hospital costs. In addition, a significant relation was seen between the cost for each elderly hospitalized and the ward/disease condition (P<0.001), and the comorbidities (P=0.001). Conclusion: To reduce the hospital costs, careful attention should be paid to disease services with the highest costs. Moreover, the preventive measures as well as alternative low-cost services (e.g. home care) and developing long-term care should be provided