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Cost of heart failure in Swedish primary healthcare

Björn Agvall1, Lars Borgquist, Mats Foldevi

  • 1General Practice, Department of Health and Society, Faculty of Health Sciences, Ekholmsvägen 7, SE-582 29 Linköping, Sweden. bjorn.agvall@lio.se

Scandinavian Journal of Primary Health Care
|November 8, 2005
PubMed

Insights

The average yearly cost for heart failure (HF) patients is SEK 37,100, with hospital care being the largest expense. Primary healthcare costs for HF patients are higher than previously recognized.

Area of Science:

  • Health Economics
  • Cardiology
  • Primary Care Medicine

Background:

  • Heart failure (HF) poses a significant health and economic burden.
  • Understanding healthcare costs in primary care settings is crucial for resource allocation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To determine the healthcare costs associated with heart failure (HF) patients within a primary healthcare framework.
  • To analyze the distribution of these costs across different healthcare services.

Main Methods:

  • A retrospective study was conducted using patient data from two healthcare centers in Linköping, Sweden.
  • Data from 115 heart failure (HF) patients over one year were analyzed to assess healthcare utilization and costs.

Main Results:

  • The mean annual cost per HF patient was SEK 37,100, with no significant cost variations based on demographics or HF severity.
  • Hospital care represented the largest cost component (47%), followed by primary healthcare (22%), medication (18%), nursing home care (5%), and examinations (6%).

Conclusions:

  • Hospital care is the most significant cost driver for heart failure (HF) patients.
  • The study highlights that primary healthcare costs for HF patients are substantial and higher than previously estimated, contributing to a national annual cost of SEK 5.0-6.7 billion.
Abstract

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