OBJECTIVES: The first case and first death of COVID-19 in Turkey were officially announced on March 10 and March 15, 2020, respectively. Ministry of Health (MoH) of Turkey prepared a clinical guideline and published the guideline in March 2020 for guiding the clinicians for COVID-19 patients management across the country. Social Security Institution (SGK) increased the reimbursement coverage and prices for COVID-19 patients management. This study aimed to calculate the cost of management of patients infected with COVID-19 in Turkey.

METHODS: An expert opinion form was prepared depending on the MoH of Turkey`s COVID-19 Treatment Guideline. The form has been answered by 5 physicians from Istanbul, Ankara, and Kocaeli cities, where the majority of COVID-19 patients were diagnosed. The cost of management of COVID-19 patients has been calculated depending on MoH`s guideline and analysis of expert opinion forms. The updated SGK reimbursement list prices were used to calculate the cost.

RESULTS: It was calculated that 17.40% of COVID-19 patients required hospitalization, 7.4% of hospitalized patients required intensive care unit stay in Turkey depending on the expert opinion form. The cost of outpatient, inpatient, and intensive care unit stay depending on expert opinion per patient were calculated as 367,04 ₺, 16,534.09₺, and 66,278.23₺, respectively. The same costs depending on the MoH's guideline per patient were calculated as 198,64₺, 19.133,98₺, and 47.872,08₺ respectively.

CONCLUSIONS: The analysis calculated per patient treatment cost of COVID-19 patients in Turkey depending on the Ministry of Health of Turkey`s COVID-19 treatment guideline and expert opinions. It is seen that real cost which was represented by experts may be higher than MoH`s guideline offers, except inpatient. These findings should be re-evaluated including real-life data with further analysis.