Key result
Direct costs of ischemic heart disease rise ~9% annually in Switzerland.
Why the study?
The economic consequences of more intensive treatment and decreasing mortality from ischaemic heart disease in the working population of Switzerland were not previously assessed.
The economic burden of ischaemic heart disease in Switzerland in 1993 was substantial, with increasing direct medical costs partially offset by decreasing indirect costs from reduced work losses.
Historical Swiss ischaemic heart disease cost data from 1993 warrant cautious use; leaves open contemporary burdens and trends.
AIMS: Direct and indirect costs of ischaemic heart disease were assessed in Switzerland, for the period 1988-1993, in order to evaluate the economic consequences of more intensive treatment of the disease and of the decreasing mortality from ischaemic heart disease in the working population. METHODS AND RESULTS: A societal perspective was taken for a prevalence-based assessment of the direct (total resources consumed by outpatients and inpatients) and indirect (due to morbidity, invalidity, and premature death, using the human capital approach) costs. The results showed the total costs were 21 million US dollars per 100000 population in the year 1993 (47% direct, 53% indirect costs). The largest components were the direct costs of inpatient care and indirect costs due to premature death (each approximately 25% of the total). Trends showed a large increase in direct costs (+9% per year, constant dollars). Indirect costs stabilized or decreased slightly due to the reduction of work losses. CONCLUSIONS: Today's medicine and preventive measures have proven effective for ischaemic heart disease, although such remedies have required increasingly large financial resources. However, society benefits because indirect costs decrease, although this gain does not compensate for all direct costs.
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Sagmeister et al. (1997) studied Ischaemic heart disease. Ischaemic heart disease was evaluated on Direct and indirect costs. The total costs of ischaemic heart disease in Switzerland were 21 million US dollars per 100,000 population in 1993, with direct costs increasing by 9% annually.
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