tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
Public Health
. 2022 Jan 12;203:65-74.
doi: 10.1016/j.puhe.2021.12.001. Online ahead of print.
Economic burden of public health care and hospitalisation associated with COVID-19 in China
X An[SUP] 1 [/SUP], L Xiao[SUP] 2 [/SUP], X Yang[SUP] 3 [/SUP], X Tang[SUP] 1 [/SUP], F Lai[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Xiao-Hua Liang[SUP] 5 [/SUP]
Affiliations
Abstract
Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the socio-economic burden imposed on the Chinese healthcare system during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.
Study design: A cross-sectional study was used to investigate how COVID-19 impacted health and medical costs in China. Data were derived from a subdivision of the Centers for Disease control and Prevention of China.
Methods: We prospectively collected information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the designated hospitals to determine the cost of public health care and hospitalisation due to COVID-19. We estimated the resource use and direct medical costs associated with public health.
Results: The average costs, per case, for specimen collection and nucleic acid testing (NAT [specifically, polymerase chain reaction {PCR}]) in low-risk populations were $29.49 and $53.44, respectively; however, the average cost of NAT in high-risk populations was $297.94 per capita. The average costs per 1000 population for epidemiological surveys, disinfectant, health education and centralised isolation were $49.54, $247.01, $90.22 and $543.72, respectively. A single hospitalisation for COVID-19 in China cost a median of $2158.06 ($1961.13-$2325.65) in direct medical costs incurred only during hospitalisation, whereas the total costs associated with hospitalisation of patients with COVID-19 were estimated to have reached nearly $373.20 million in China as of 20, May, 2020. The cost of public health care associated with COVID-19 as of 20, May, 2020 ($6.83 billion) was 18.31 times that of hospitalisation.
Conclusions: This study highlights the magnitude of resources needed to treat patients with COVID-19 and control the COVID-19 pandemic. Public health measures implemented by the Chinese government have been valuable in reducing the infection rate and may be cost-effective ways to control emerging infectious diseases.
Keywords: COVID-19; Hospitalisation; Public health care; Socio-economic burden; Treatment.
. 2022 Jan 12;203:65-74.
doi: 10.1016/j.puhe.2021.12.001. Online ahead of print.
Economic burden of public health care and hospitalisation associated with COVID-19 in China
X An[SUP] 1 [/SUP], L Xiao[SUP] 2 [/SUP], X Yang[SUP] 3 [/SUP], X Tang[SUP] 1 [/SUP], F Lai[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Xiao-Hua Liang[SUP] 5 [/SUP]
Affiliations
- PMID: 35032917
- PMCID: PMC8754688
- DOI: 10.1016/j.puhe.2021.12.001
Abstract
Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the socio-economic burden imposed on the Chinese healthcare system during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.
Study design: A cross-sectional study was used to investigate how COVID-19 impacted health and medical costs in China. Data were derived from a subdivision of the Centers for Disease control and Prevention of China.
Methods: We prospectively collected information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the designated hospitals to determine the cost of public health care and hospitalisation due to COVID-19. We estimated the resource use and direct medical costs associated with public health.
Results: The average costs, per case, for specimen collection and nucleic acid testing (NAT [specifically, polymerase chain reaction {PCR}]) in low-risk populations were $29.49 and $53.44, respectively; however, the average cost of NAT in high-risk populations was $297.94 per capita. The average costs per 1000 population for epidemiological surveys, disinfectant, health education and centralised isolation were $49.54, $247.01, $90.22 and $543.72, respectively. A single hospitalisation for COVID-19 in China cost a median of $2158.06 ($1961.13-$2325.65) in direct medical costs incurred only during hospitalisation, whereas the total costs associated with hospitalisation of patients with COVID-19 were estimated to have reached nearly $373.20 million in China as of 20, May, 2020. The cost of public health care associated with COVID-19 as of 20, May, 2020 ($6.83 billion) was 18.31 times that of hospitalisation.
Conclusions: This study highlights the magnitude of resources needed to treat patients with COVID-19 and control the COVID-19 pandemic. Public health measures implemented by the Chinese government have been valuable in reducing the infection rate and may be cost-effective ways to control emerging infectious diseases.
Keywords: COVID-19; Hospitalisation; Public health care; Socio-economic burden; Treatment.