Pharmacoeconomic aspects of hospital treatment of facial fractures - cost of illness study based on data from Balkan country with recent history of social and economic transition

Abstract

Background/purpose: The incidence of facial fractures has a tendency to rise, which positively correlates with increasing total costs of treating this medical condition. The aim of this study was to identify the total costs of the hospital treatment of facial fractures and to analyze its main determinants. Materials and methods: This retrospective "cost-of-illness" study "from bottom to the top" approach was performed from the perspective of the Republic Health Insurance Fund. This study included 46 patients who were treated due to facial fractures at the Clinic for Maxillofacial Surgery at the Clinical Center Kragujevac in the period from the beginning of December 2017. to January 31, 2019. Results: The total costs of hospital treatment of all types of treated fractures amounted to 20,214.30€, and the average total cost per patient was estimated at 439.44±299.53€. The costs related to the length of hospitalization represented the largest part of the total direct costs, with a contribution of 31% and with a value of 6,329.30±80.18 €. Conclusions: Results of this pilot study pointed out that the total costs of treating facial fractures in the socio-economic sphere of Balkan countries are lower than in other health care systems, mostly due to differences in valuing medical services compared to countries within the European Union. Due to the rising incidence of injuries and obligatory hospital treatment of these conditions, this kind of pharmacoeconomic evaluation could contribute to the introduction of new therapeutic strategies for adequate allocation of resources within health systems.