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Healthcare use and costs of primary and secondary care patients with prostatitis
Judith A Turner1, Marcia A Ciol, Michael Von Korff
1Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, Washington 98195, USA.
Objectives:
To examine and identify predictors of healthcare use and prostatitis-related and total healthcare costs for primary and secondary care patients with new episodes of care for prostatitis.
Methods:
We compared the use and costs for 270 men with a new episode of care for prostatitis to those of randomly selected male health maintenance organization enrollees matched by age and primary care provider. We examined the episode of care (index visit and next 2 months) and the previous and subsequent years. Patients with prostatitis were interviewed 1 month after the index visit.
Results:
Compared with controls, patients with prostatitis had significantly greater total healthcare use (P <0.001) and costs (P <0.05) in each period. The prostatitis costs were only a small proportion of the total costs of the patients with prostatitis and of the difference in costs between patients with prostatitis and controls. The 10% of patients with prostatitis with the greatest total costs accounted for about one half of all costs. White race (P = 0.04), less education (P = 0.02), greater disability (P = 0.003), and greater number of non-pelvic pain sites (P = 0.004) at baseline predicted greater total healthcare costs after the index visit.
Conclusions:
Health maintenance organization enrollees who seek care for prostatitis have greater total healthcare use and costs than do other enrollees of the same age and primary care provider. Most of the difference in costs reflects care for problems other than prostatitis. A small proportion of patients account for most of the costs.
Insights
Men with prostatitis incur higher healthcare use and costs than similar individuals without the condition. Most elevated costs stem from non-prostatitis issues, with a few patients driving the majority of expenses.
Area of Science:
- Urology
- Health Services Research
- Health Economics
Background:
- Prostatitis represents a significant health concern for men.
- Understanding healthcare utilization and cost drivers associated with prostatitis is crucial for resource allocation and patient management.
- Previous studies have not fully elucidated the predictors of healthcare costs in prostatitis patients.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify predictors of healthcare use and costs in patients experiencing new episodes of prostatitis.
- To differentiate between prostatitis-related and total healthcare expenditures.
- To compare healthcare utilization and costs between prostatitis patients and matched controls.
Main Methods:
- A comparative study design was employed, analyzing 270 men with new prostatitis episodes against randomly selected, age- and primary care provider-matched health maintenance organization (HMO) enrollees.
- Healthcare use and costs were assessed for the index visit, the subsequent two months, and the preceding and following years.
- Patients with prostatitis underwent interviews one month post-index visit to gather baseline data.
Main Results:
- Prostatitis patients demonstrated significantly higher total healthcare use and costs compared to controls across all examined periods (P <0.001 and P <0.05, respectively).
- Costs directly attributed to prostatitis constituted a minor fraction of overall patient expenditures and the cost difference between groups.
- Predictors of increased total healthcare costs included white race, lower educational attainment, greater baseline disability, and a higher number of non-pelvic pain sites.
Conclusions:
- Individuals seeking care for prostatitis exhibit elevated healthcare utilization and costs compared to their peers within the same healthcare system.
- The majority of increased healthcare costs in prostatitis patients are associated with conditions other than prostatitis itself.
- A small subset of prostatitis patients accounts for a disproportionately large share of total healthcare expenditures.
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