Cost Of Disease-related Malnutrition Research Articles

The costs of disease related malnutrition in hospitalized children

Disease related malnutrition (DRM) is a serious medical condition which is associated with an increase in morbidity and mortality, augmenting resource use and associated costs. DRM can be detected by actively and fully assessing the nutritional status. Studies in adult malnourished patients have shown that the additional health care costs are about € 2 billion (€ 2000 million) per year. The objective of the current study was to estimate the annual additional costs of DRM for pediatric patients as was done for adults. A cost-of-illness analysis was performed to calculate the annual additional costs of DRM in 2015 pediatric patients (aged 1 month up to and including 17 years) admitted to non-academic hospitals in The Netherlands. DRM was assessed with weight-for-age, weight-for-height and height-for-age. Input variables in the formula used were length of stay and prevalence of DRM. The costs were estimated per disease as classified in the International Classification of Diseases by the WHO (ICD-10), per gender and age group. The results were expressed as an absolute monetary value as well as a percentage of the Dutch national health expenditure. Robustness of the results was checked by a sensitivity analysis. The total additional direct medical costs of DRM in pediatric patients in 2013 were estimated to be € 51 million for acute malnutrition, € 46 million when focused on chronic malnutrition and € 80 million in case of overall malnourished children. This equals 5.6% of the total Dutch hospital costs for these hospitalized children. This study has shown that DRM in hospitalized children is associated with an increase in annual hospital costs with an additional amount of € 80 million, of which acute malnutrition account for the largest part.

Home enteral nutrition recipients: patient perspectives on training, complications and satisfaction

The equitable provision of home enteral nutrition (HEN) in the community can have a transformative effect on patient experience and family life for adults and children alike. While optimising quality...

The economic costs of disease related malnutrition

Disease related malnutrition (under-nutrition caused by illness) is a worldwide problem in all health care settings with potentially serious consequences on a physical as well as a psycho-social level. In the European Union countries about 20 million patients are affected by disease related malnutrition, costing EU governments up to € 120 billion annually. The aim of this study is to calculate the total additional costs of disease related malnutrition in The Netherlands. A cost-of-illness analysis was used to calculate the additional total costs of disease related malnutrition in adults (>18 years of age) for The Netherlands in 2011 in the hospital, nursing- and residential home and home care setting, expressed as an absolute monetary value as well as a percentage of the total Dutch national health expenditure and as a percentage of the total costs of the studied health care sectors in The Netherlands. The total additional costs of managing adult patients with disease related malnutrition were estimated to be € 1.9 billion in 2011 which equals 2.1% of the total Dutch national health expenditure and 4.9% of the total costs of the health care sectors analyzed in this study. The results of this study show that the additional costs of disease related malnutrition in adults in The Netherlands are considerable.

PP347 THE HEALTH ECONOMIC IMPACT OF ORAL NUTRITIONAL SUPPLEMENTS IN GERMANY

Rationale: To assess the health economic impact of oral nutritional supplement (ONS), being a medical nutrition product, in the community setting in Germany. Methods: This health economic analysis is based on a comparison of the use of ONS versus “no ONS” in patients, who are eligible for ONS due to (risk of) disease-related malnutrition (DRM). The costs of the two treatment strategies, ONS versus “no ONS” were assessed using a linear decision analytic model reflecting cost functions related with DRM. Data sources are published literature, clinical trials, official national price/tariff lists and national population statistics. Results: This study shows that the extra costs for ONS (€534) are off-set by a reduction of hospitalisation costs (€ 768) leading to total cost savings of € 234 per patient. A scenario analysis based on length of stay (LOS) and per diem instead of Disease Related Group (DRG) costs shows that the extra costs for ONS (€ 534) are also off-set by a reduction of hospitalisation costs (€791) leading to cost savings of €257 per patient. The national cost savings vary between €604 million and €662 million respectively in the base case and scenario analysis. Conclusion: This health economic analysis shows that the use of ONS leads to higher effectiveness because of a reduction of hospitalisation, thereby leading to cost savings for the cost of DRM in Germany at patient level in the community setting. As a consequence the use of ONS can be considered cost-effective at a patient and population level.