Medical resource consumption of moderate/severe psoriasis in a private health organization of Buenos Aires, Argentina()()

BACKGROUND: Despite the economic burden of psoriasis for patients and societies, scant information exists regarding the impact and burden of the disease in Argentina. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to estimate medical resource consumption and direct health care costs for patients with moderate/severe psoriasis in Buenos Aires, Argentina from the perspective of the payer. METHODS: Adults with moderate/severe psoriasis (severity was defined as receiving systemic treatment), during January 2010–January 2014, aged 18 years and older, members of the Italian Hospital Medical Care Program with at least 18 months of follow-up were included. All data on hospitalizations, drug prescription, outpatient episodes, consultations, and investigations/tests in the 12 months before inclusion in the study were considered for the estimation of medical resource consumption and direct health care costs. First-quarter 2018 costs were obtained from the IHMCP and converted into US dollars (using the January 2018 exchange rate). RESULTS: A total of 791 patients were included. The mean age at diagnosis was 34 ± 12 years. Almost 65% of the patients had a dermatologist as their usual source of care, 43% had internists, and 14% had rheumatologists. The average yearly direct cost was US$ 5326 (95% CI: 4125–7896) per patient per year. STUDY LIMITATION: The single center design and the retrospective nature are the main limitations. CONCLUSION: This is the first Argentine study that evaluated the costs of moderate/severe psoriasis by taking into consideration the direct medical costs of the disease.