OBJECTIVES : Approximately 50% of hospitalized patients are malnourished or at-risk of malnutrition in Mexico. These patients experience poor health outcomes and increased hospital costs. We performed an economic analysis to estimate potential savings associated with the implementation of a hospital-based nutrition care program for patients at malnutrition risk receiving care in Mexico hospitals.

METHODS : The budget impact analysis was performed using previously-published data. Outcomes included length of stay and 30-day readmissions. The model compared patients who were assigned to receive early nutrition therapy (initiated within 24-48 hours of hospital admission) with those assigned to receive standard nutrition therapy (not initiated early). Our model used a 30-day time-horizon and estimated event probabilities based on published data. All costs are reported in 2019 US dollars.

RESULTS : Average total costs over 30-days were $3,143 US dollars for patients with early nutrition therapy vs $4,493 for patients with usual nutrition therapy—a savings of $1,349 (30% decrease) per nutrition-treated patient. Cost differences between the groups were: $2,840 vs $3,589 (21% decrease) for hospital-associated costs and $303 vs $904 (60% decrease) for 30-day readmissions. The potential costs savings of total public health expenditure from an early nutrition care program for an estimated 3.19 million hospitalized Mexican patients at malnutrition risk is $4.3 billion per year.

CONCLUSIONS : The results of the budget impact analysis demonstrated the potential for hospital-based nutrition care programs to improve health outcomes and reduce healthcare costs for hospitalized patients in Mexico. These findings provide a rationale for healthcare institutions to promote awareness and training among the clinical personnel with the purpose of facilitating the implementation of comprehensive nutrition programs for the hospitalized Mexican population at risk for malnutrition.