[Model of costs of care for dementia: community-dwelling vs. institutionalization]

This article describes a model of costs for Alzheimer's Disease. The cost of institutionalization and the cost of living at home for patients with Alzheimer's Disease are calculated and compared. The average yearly cost of living at home is 10,810 Dutch guilders for male patients and 12,771 Dutch guilders for female patients (prices of 1996). Institutionalization is considerably more expensive: the average yearly cost associated with admission to a residential home is 48,180 Dutch guilders and 98,915 versus 102,930 Dutch guilders for costs associated with admission to a specialised respectively nonspecialized nursing home. Differences between men and women could not be taken into account in these last three estimations. The cost of living at home increases when the cost of informal care is included. However, when the cost were valued with a tariff of 29.50 guilders per hour, institutionalisation remains more expensive than living at home. This is also the case for severely demented patients, as the costs of institutions are also related to the level of care.