Cost Of Alzheimer Research Articles

The impact of symptom severity on the cost of Alzheimer's disease.

ITo examine the economic impact of Alzheimer's disease (AD) as the disease progresses on patients' medical costs and caregivers' productivity. A 12-page, self-administered mail survey, fielded in November 1999. Households with AD caregivers, selected from a nationwide (U.S.) consumer database. One thousand seven hundred fifteen caregivers of noninstitutionalized AD patients. Disease progression was measured using a scale of symptom frequency and measures of instrumental and physical functioning. Cost components included hospital days, physician visits, and emergency room visits. Lost productivity was assessed using hours per week that caregivers provided care and the number of days that they missed from work because of caregiving. The direct costs of caring for AD patients for 6 months totaled $3,129, whereas the indirect costs were $26,080. Patients with more-frequent symptoms used all healthcare resources, including the hospital, emergency room, and physicians, more often than those with less-frequent symptoms. Those with lower levels of physical and instrumental functioning also used the hospital and physicians more often than those with higher levels of physical and instrumental functioning. Caregivers of these more severely impaired patients spent more hours providing care and reported missing more work than those caring for higher-functioning patients. These relationships remained after controlling for potentially confounding factors. This large study of patients at all stages of AD shows that the direct and indirect costs of AD are considerably lower for patients with fewer symptoms. Longitudinal studies will determine the impact on the overall cost of care of interventions that reduce symptoms and maintain patients at earlier stages of the disease.

The costs of caring: medical costs of Alzheimer's disease and the managed care environment.

This review summarizes the medical costs associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and related dementias, as well as the payers responsible for these medical costs in the US health care system. It is clear from this review that AD and related dementias are associated with substantial medical costs. The payers responsible for a majority of these costs are families of patients with AD and the US government through the Medicare and Medicaid programs. In an attempt to control expenditures, Medicare and Medicaid have turned to managed care principles and managed care organizations. The increase in "managed" dementia care gives rise to several potential problems for patients with AD, along with many opportunities for systematic improvement in the quality of dementia care. Evidence-based disease management programs provide the greatest opportunities for improving managed dementia care but will require the development of dementia-specific quality of care measures to evaluate and continually improve them.

Cost of Alzheimer's disease

The progressive deterioration associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD) results in high economic cost to the patients, caregivers, and the society as a whole. Cost-of-AD studies conducted over the last decade have produced discrepant results, mainly as a consequence of the different methodologies employed. The present review is an attempt to present the methodology of the cost studies in AD and provide the reader with the tools necessary for a critical assessment of the results.

Cost of Alzheimer's disease and related dementia in managed-medicare.

Managed care organizations (MCOs) will have increased responsibility for the care of large numbers of persons with dementia. There are, however, few studies that inform about decisions of healthcare utilization and expenditures for individuals with dementia in managed care. To examine in a large MCO whether people diagnosed with dementia have higher healthcare utilization and costs than enrollees without dementia. A retrospective study of medical and prescription claims. An MCO covering more than 80,000 Medicare enrollees in four geographical locales between January 1, 1996, and March 31, 1998. There were 677 paired cases with and without dementia. Controls were selected randomly and matched to cases on age, gender, and region. Summed total costs and number of claims accrued during the study period, as well as a breakdown of costs and claims with respect to place of service, were annualized and adjusted for age, gender, and comorbid conditions. Costs and claims were broken down by place of service. Dementia prevalence was 0.83%. Mean total costs were 1.5 times higher for patients with dementia relative to controls ($13,487 vs $9,276, P < .001) when annualized and adjusted for level of comorbidity. Almost 75% of the higher costs among cases were linked to inpatient expenses. Higher costs for individuals with dementia and disproportionate inpatient costs in this MCO parallel patterns among Medicare enrollees in fee-for-service. The high prevalence of dementia among the oldest old coupled with the high costs of dementia care create very significant clinical and financial incentives for managed care plans to improve the care of members suffering from dementia.

Counting the cost of Alzheimer’s disease

Counting the cost of Alzheimer’s disease

Counting the cost of Alzheimer??s disease

Few conditions are more devastating than Alzheimer’s disease (AD), and it’s a growing problem. A recent review of the burden of AD in the UK suggests that, by 2021, the number of cases will increase by 23-44% compared with 1996 levels. * Thus, as many as 663 100 people could have AD in the UK by 2021. US estimates paint an even bleaker picture, suggesting that between 7.5 million and 14.3 million people will have AD by 2050. 1

Cost of Alzheimer’s escalates with increasing disease severity

Cost of Alzheimer’s escalates with increasing disease severity

MHA1 The Economic Burden of Alzheimer's Disease to Medicaid in California (MEDI-CAL)

State Medicaid programs may bear a large portion of the costs of Alzheimer's disease (AD), since they are the major public payers for nursing home care. Recent data on current spending by Medicaid for these patients are not available. OBJECTIVE: To document Medicaid spending in California for persons with AD. METHODS: This study was based on enrollment and claims data for a 10% random sample of Medi-Cal recipients 60+ years of age with Medicaid claims in 1995 (N=62,450). Using a prevalence-based cost-of-illness methodology, the cost of AD was estimated as the difference in average annual costs between persons with AD and/or dementia, and an age- and sex-matched comparison cohort. Dementia was included with AD, since the latter is difficult to diagnose, and may be coded more broadly as dementia in an administrative database. Multivariate analyses were undertaken to control for differences in factors other than age and sex, including comorbid conditions. RESULTS: A total of 2,575 patients with AD and/or dementia were identified, a prevalence of 4.1%. From the 59,875 remaining recipients, 2,575 matched controls were randomly selected. Several comorbid conditions were found to be more common in the group with AD and/or dementia. After adjustment, average annual payments were found to be $7,700 higher for the AD/dementia cohort ($14,500 versus $6,800 for the comparison cohort, p <0.01); 90% of which represented nursing home costs. CONCLUSIONS: A diagnosis of AD and/or dementia is associated with substantially higher Medicaid expenditures. Annual excess spending for AD and/or dementia for the Medi-Cal program may be as high as $200 million, or 10% of all expenditures for elderly recipients.

Estimated cost of Alzheimer's disease (AD) in community patients in Spain: Preliminary results

Estimated cost of Alzheimer's disease (AD) in community patients in Spain: Preliminary results

Apolipoprotein E and the Cost of Alzheimer's Disease

Apolipoprotein E and the Cost of Alzheimer's Disease

Apolipoprotein E and the Cost of Alzheimer's Disease

Apolipoprotein E and the Cost of Alzheimer's Disease

The cost of Alzheimer's disease. Will drug treatment ease the burden?

The cost of Alzheimer's disease. Will drug treatment ease the burden?