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[Resources use and direct medical costs in a pediatric population with chronic diseases]

Francisco Ferraris1, Andrea Beratarrechea, Julián Llera

  • 1Servicio de Pediatría y Área de Programas Médicos del Plan de Salud, Hospital Italiano de Buenos Aires. francisco.ferraris@hospitalitaliano.org.ar

Archivos Argentinos De Pediatria
|June 11, 2011
PubMed

Insights

Children and adolescents with chronic diseases incur significantly higher healthcare costs and resource utilization than their healthy peers. Highly prevalent conditions, even with moderate individual costs, drive a substantial portion of total chronic disease expenditure.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Health Economics
  • Chronic Disease Management
  • Healthcare Resource Utilization

Background:

  • Chronic diseases in pediatric populations represent a significant public health challenge.
  • Understanding resource utilization and associated costs is crucial for healthcare planning and resource allocation.
  • Previous studies have not comprehensively analyzed direct medical costs for a broad range of chronic conditions in children from a health insurer's perspective.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the distribution and analyze resource use in children and adolescents with chronic diseases.
  • To determine the direct medical costs associated with chronic conditions in pediatric populations.
  • To compare healthcare resource utilization and costs between chronically ill children and healthy controls from a health insurer's viewpoint.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of resource utilization and direct medical costs for patients aged 21 or younger.
  • Comparison between pediatric patients with at least one chronic disease and healthy controls over a one-year period (2008).
  • Data sourced from a health plan of a community hospital in Buenos Aires, Argentina; costs expressed in USD for 2008.

Main Results:

  • Identified 1885 children and adolescents with chronic illness, representing 6.7% of the pediatric population studied.
  • Children with chronic diseases exhibited higher rates and longer durations of hospitalization, increased medication use, and more frequent medical consultations.
  • Mean annual costs were significantly higher for chronically ill children (US$ 501) compared to healthy children (US$ 212); prevalent conditions like overweight, obesity, and asthma accounted for 39% of total chronic disease costs.

Conclusions:

  • Pediatric patients with chronic diseases demonstrate significantly greater utilization of medical services and incur higher costs across all studied areas.
  • Highly prevalent chronic conditions, even those with moderate per-patient costs, contribute disproportionately to the overall expenditure on chronic diseases in the pediatric population.
  • These findings underscore the need for effective chronic disease management strategies to mitigate healthcare costs and improve outcomes in children and adolescents.
Abstract

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