REDUCING ASTHMA COSTS IN THE USA

A study looking at the economic aspect of asthma in the USA has found that there are a number of areas where cost-savings could be made. In 1990, the cost of illness related to asthma is estimated at $6.2 billion, according to a research team led by Kevin Weiss of the Department of Health Care Services, Washington, USA. The study is published in the New England Journal of Medicine (March 26).

It was found that inpatient hospital services represented the largest single medical expenditure for asthma, at a level approaching $1.6 billion in 1990. The value of reduced productivity due to loss of school days represented the largest single indirect cost, approaching $1 billion in that year.

Despite the fact that asthma is often considered a mild chronic illness which is frequently effectively managed with ambulatory care, the researchers found that 43% of the total cost of the disease was attributable to emergency room use, hospitalization and death. During the past decade, the percentage of hospitalizations for asthma has increased among children who either receive Medicaid or have no source of payment. Therefore, say the researchers, changes in public health policy that would improve primary care for this patient population might reduce hospitalization rates, and produce a saving in public health expenditure in this area.