Jun 26 2008
The Costs of IC Disease
While it is obvious that Interstitial Cystitis patients use many medical resources, there hasn’t been enough research done on what the economic burden of the illness has caused.
Researchers from Chicago and Portland attempted to determine the direct medical costs to the healthcare system associated with a diagnosis of IC Disease. Their goal was also to determine specific medication and procedure patterns in IC patients. The study partipants included members of Kaiser Permanente Northwest. Here were the study results:
They found that mean yearly costs were 2.4 times greater for patients than for controls ($7100 versus $2994) and the median yearly costs were 3.8-fold greater ($5000 verses $1304). The costs differences were mainly a result of outpatient and pharmacy expenses. An analysis of medical comorbidities suggested that the excess costs for the patients were more likely attributable to BPS/IC than to accompanying comorbidities incorporated into the treatment-risk model. The relative cost difference was most pronounced for the youngest individuals (25-50 years).
The study authors wanted to note, however, that the costs they report in their analysis may have underestimated the true cost of the disease for different reasons.
They did not reflect IC-related costs accrued before diagnosis and did not included services not covered by Kaiser. They did not incorporate indirect costs, which are much harder to measure, such as work loss due to symptoms. Without a reliably effective treatment, this cost structure could persist for extended periods.
