Cost of illness among patients with diabetic foot ulcer in Turkey

AIM: To evaluate the annual cost of patients with Wagner grade 3-4-5 diabetic foot ulcer (DFU) from the public payer’s perspective in Turkey. METHODS: This study was conducted focused on a time frame of one year from the public payer’s perspective. Cost-of-illness (COI) methodology, which was developed by the World Health Organization, was used in the generation of cost data. By following a clinical path with the COI method, the main total expenses were reached by multiplying the number of uses of each expense item, the percentage of cases that used them and unit costs. Clinical guidelines and real data specific to Turkey were used in the calculation of the direct costs. Monte Carlo Simulation was used in the study as a sensitivity analysis. RESULTS: The following were calculated in DFU treatment from the public payer’s perspective: The annual average per patient outpatient costs $579.5 (4.1%), imaging test costs $283.2 (2.0%), laboratory test costs $284.8 (2.0%), annual average per patient cost of intervention, rehabilitation and trainings $2291.7 (16.0%), annual average per patient cost of drugs used $2545.8 (17.8%) and annual average per patient cost of medical materials used in DFU treatment $735.0 (5.1%). The average annual per patient cost for hospital admission is $7357.4 (51.5%). The average per patient complication cost for DFU is $210.3 (1.5%). The average annual per patient cost of DFU treatment in Turkey is $14287.70. As a result of the sensitivity analysis, the standard deviation of the analysis was $5706.60 (n = 5000, mean = $14146.8, 95%CI: $13988.6-$14304.9). CONCLUSION: The health expenses per person are $-PPP 1045 in 2014 in Turkey and the average annual per patient cost for DFU is 14-fold of said amount. The total health expense in 2014 in Turkey is $-PPP 80.3 billion and the total DFU cost has a 3% share in the total annual health expenses for Turkey. Hospital costs are the highest component in DFU disease costs. In order to prevent DFU, training of the patients at risk and raising consciousness in patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) will provide benefits in terms of economy. Appropriate and efficient treatment of DM is a health intervention that can prevent complications.