Costs of Hospital Care for Hypertension in the Philippines
Author Information
Author(s): Wagner Anita K, Valera Madeleine, Graves Amy J, Laviña Sheila, Ross-Degnan Dennis
Primary Institution: Harvard Medical School and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care
Hypothesis
What are the costs incurred by PhilHealth for inpatient care of hypertension and its sequelae?
Conclusion
Inpatient care for hypertension and its sequelae is expensive, and many hospitalizations could be avoided with outpatient antihypertensive therapy.
Supporting Evidence
- PhilHealth reimbursed US $56 million for 444,628 hospitalizations for hypertension-related diagnoses.
- 42% of admissions were for essential or secondary hypertension.
- 9% of patients hospitalized for essential or secondary hypertension were readmitted for sequelae.
Takeaway
This study shows that many people in the Philippines end up in the hospital because they can't afford the medicines they need for high blood pressure, which costs a lot of money.
Methodology
The study analyzed PhilHealth inpatient claims for hospitalizations related to hypertension from July 2002 to December 2005.
Potential Biases
Potential bias in hospital claims data due to inaccurate coding of diagnoses.
Limitations
The study may underestimate the number of hospitalizations and costs due to reliance on ICD-10 codes and limited follow-up time.
Participant Demographics
The majority of hospitalizations occurred among patients aged 60-79, with a mix of government and private sector employees.
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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