Healthcare: expenditure

Kyriopoulos et al. (1995) compared different estimates of HIV/AIDS healthcare expenditure in Greece based on study years 1987-1993. Average annual cost per... 

As we grow older our muscle strength diminishes and the risk of developing sarcopenia increases. The meaning of the word sarcopenia is an abnormal decline in muscle strength and mass. Another word is muscle atrophy. Between early middle age and older age the mean decrease is 50% of muscle mass. Another way to calculate the loss of muscle mass is that over 50 years of age 1-2% of muscle tissue mass vanishes yearly. Between 50 and 70 years of age almost 15% of muscle strength per 10 years disappears. The resulting disability in older persons with sarcopenia has been calculated to cost approximately 900 dollars per person and year. The yearly total of healthcare expenditures for sarcopenia in the United States is estimated at 18-20 billions (Janssen et al. 2004). 

One factor in the reduction of healthcare expenditure is home medical care, which involves adaptations of the methods of care. These uses dictate particular requirements for sterility, safety, reliability, weight and facility of use. Plastics can bring solutions in the fields of single-use products, unbreakable equipment and weight reduction, for example, in the syringes, tubes and pumps for drug injections and apparatus for ambulatory dialysis. 

Table 26.1 Healthcare expenditure and medicines expenditure as % GDP and comparative cost of medicines (OECD Health Data 2000 and 2001)...

Since 1994 the government has developed a comprehensive primary healthcare policy with a focus on preventive rather than curative healthcare. The healthcare system is being restructured holistically to ensure eiffordable equality and accessibility to all South Africans. Healthcare expenditure was predominantly concentrated on providing curative, high technology medicine in urban areas. 

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which estimated a prevalence in 2001 of 7.9% in adults. This is equivalent to 16.7 million people. Because at least 30% of all prevalent cases are undiagnosed, the total number may have been almost 22 million. Note that in 1987, the prevalence of diagnosed diabetes was 6.8 million. This large increase in diabetes has been observed globally. The prevalence of diabetes in adults worldwide was estimated to be 4.0% in 1995 and anticipated to rise to 5.4% by the year 2025. The prediction is that in 2025 there will be 300 million adults with diabetes, greater than 75% of whom will live in developing countries. These statistics have led to diabetes being described as one of the main threats to human health in the twenty-first century. The prevalence of diabetes mellitus increases with age, and approximately half of all cases occur in people older than 55 years. In the United States, -20% of the population older than 65 years have diabetes. There is racial predilection, and by the age of 65, 33%, 25%, and 17% of Hispanics, blacks, and whites, respectively, in the United States have diabetes mellitus. In 2002 diabetes mellitus was estimated to be responsible for 132 billion in healthcare expenditures in the United States. The direct costs were 92 billion, with 50% of that incurred by those older than 65 years. An estimated 186,000 deaths annually are attributable to diabetes. In fact, American women are twice as likely to die from diabetes mellitus as from breast cancer. Approximately one in five American healthcare dollars spent in 2002 was for people with diabetes mellitus. 

Essential to a partnership in medical decision making is the necessity that each patient realigns his or her own approach toward health and the healthcare system. Currently, our Western culture advertises and promotes poor choices in lifestyle that ultimately result in burgeoning healthcare expenditures. Fundamental to this new paradigm of healthcare is the requirement that individuals take responsibility for their own wellness, making healthy choices concerning nutrition, physical activity, and response to stressful situations. 

The pharmacy profession has recognized that the benefits to society greatly exceed the cost of the drugs. The benefits of the drugs and pharmacy care center around an improved quality of life, a decrease in overall healthcare expenditures, and an increased life span. ... 

In the mid-1990s, expenditure on pharmaceuticals— largely expenditure on PBS listed medicines—accounted for 15% of total healthcare expenditure in Australia, which was 8.5% of gross domestic product. Of the total outlays on the PBS, manufacturers receive 67%, pharmacists 26%, and wholesalers 7%. ... 

Work groups identified several trends for the future. Major factors expected to affect pharmacy included a growing elderly population, more health promotion and wellness activities, increased efforts to prove the cost effectiveness of drugs, a decline in healthcare expenditures as a proportion of the Gross National Product, and an increase in nontraditional therapies. There would be more sophisticated drug delivery systems, and more prescription drugs would become available on a nonprescription basis. Finally, it was believed that pharmacists... 

As healthcare costs continue to rise, governments are continually seeking to contain their healthcare expenditures. 

Total expenditure on pharmaceuticals and other medical non-durables %GDP % Total healthcare expenditure Per capita, USS exchange rate... 

Farley JF, Harley CR, Devine JW. 2006. A comparison of comorbidity measurements to predict healthcare expenditures. Am.. Manag. Care 12 110-119. 

The UK has one of the largest medical device markets in the world. The market is dominated by the National Health Service (NHS), which accounts for approximately 80% of the healthcare expenditure, even though there are fewer private sectors. 

Eighteen percent of all children/adolescents have special healthcare needs these needs represent 80% of all healthcare expenditures for this group. 

Because alvimopan reverses the adverse effects of opioids on the gastrointestinal tract, it accelerates gastrointestinal recovery in patients following colorectal or small-bowel resection surgery. This potentially improves patient comfort while reducing healthcare expenditure due to extended hospitalization. 

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