The economic burden of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease from 2004 to 2013

Abstract

Objectives:

This study examines the epidemiology and economic impact of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) at a nationwide level in South Korea.

Methods:

This retrospective analysis used the societal cost-of-illness framework, consisting of direct medical costs, direct non-medical costs, and indirect costs. In order to analyze the societal costs of patients with COPD, this study used a data mining and a macro-costing method on data from a South Korean national-level health survey and a national health insurance claims database from 2004–2013.

Results:

The total societal cost of COPD in 2013 was estimated to be $439.9 million for 1,419,914 patients. The direct medical cost for COPD was $214.3 million, which included a hospitalization cost of $96.3 million, an outpatient cost of $76.4 million, and a pharmaceutical cost of $41.6 million. The direct non-medical cost was estimated at $43.5 million. The indirect overall cost associated with the morbidity and mortality of COPD was $182.2 million in 2013.

Conclusions:

This study showed that COPD has a major effect on healthcare costs, particularly direct medical costs. Thus, appropriate long-term interventions are recommended to lower the economic burden of COPD in South Korea.

Keywords::

• COPD
• Societal cost
• Burden of illness
• Time cost

Transparency

Declaration of funding

Funding for this research has been provided by Novartis Pharma AG, Hallym University, and the South Korean Ministry of Health and Welfare.

Declaration of interest

The data collection process of this study was supported by a grant from the Healthcare Technology R&D Project of the Ministry of Health and Welfare of the Republic of Korea (A040153). Moreover, the work of writing and submitting of the report was supported by Hallym University (H21050081). All the authors declare there have been no involvements that might raise the question of bias in the work reported or in the conclusions, implications, or opinions stated. JME peer reviewers on this manuscript have no relevant financial or other relationships to disclose.