INFO: Hepatitis C Patients Taxing Medical System

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Hepatitis C Patients Taxing Medical System

FRIDAY, Dec. 30 (HealthDay News) -- The use of

health-care resources by hepatitis C patients in the United States has been

increasing by 25 percent to 30 percent a year, says a Duke University study in

the December issue of Hepatology.

About 3 million people in the United States have chronic

hepatitis C virus (HCV), and many of them contracted it in the 1970s, before

testing and safe needle-sharing practices became widespread. Health experts

have been predicting an increasing impact on the health system as these people

grow older.

The Duke researchers analyzed HCV patient

hospitalization trends from 1994 to 2001, HCV-related doctors' visits from 1996

to 2002, and prescription drug data for HCV patients from 1998 to 2000.

The study found that HCV-related hospitalizations,

hospital days, total charges and deaths increased by more than 20 percent per

year. That's three times higher than all-cause hospitalizations. The largest

increases were seen in patients in their 40s and 50s, who spent more time in a

hospital, incurred greater costs, and died more often than HCV patients in

other age groups.

The study also found that doctor office visits by

HCV patients increased by 36 percent a year, and spending on HCV drug therapy

rose from $78 per $100,000 of new prescriptions in 1998 to $259 per $100,000 in

2000.

" The study documents accelerating use of

health-care resources by patients with HCV, indicating that the future burden

of HCV infection will match and may exceed analysts' forecasts, " the study

authors wrote.

http://news./s/hsn/20051230/hl_hsn/Hepatitis Cpatientstaxingmedicalsystem