OBJECTIVES: Diabetes mellitus type 2 (DM2) is a public health issue worldwide. In this study we estimated the health care resource utilization and the annual direct medical costs of diabetes mellitus in Colombia, 2018-2021

METHODS: Cross-sectional study of patients with DM2 of Mutual SER EPS, a poor population insurance company with 2.5 million insured. We analyzed the annually health care resource utilization (HCRU) of patients who consumed health services and their direct medical costs. Absolute and relative frequencies were estimated to describe HCRU, and costs were expressed in averages with 95% confidence intervals (95%CI). This study was conducted from the health system perspective. Costs were reported in American dollars using an exchange rate of 1USD = 3,981.16 COP.

RESULTS: We analyzed 2,788 DM2 patients, 68.8% male. The average of age and body mass index was 60.7 years old (SD. 13.6) and 26.4 (SD. 5.3). The annual average direct medical cost of a DM2 patient that used health services was US$134.3 (95%CI 122.9-145.6); 44.1% due to intensive care unit (ICU), 23.2% to intermediate ICU, 9.6% surgical procedures, 9.3% general hospitalization, 4,9% home care, 9.9% others. 2,506 patients (89.8%) used drugs, with annual average costs of US$224.4 (95%CI 220.2-238.6); 1,304 (46.7%) used specialist consultation, with average direct costs of US$15.8 (95%CI 14.5-18), 472 (16.9%) used labs & images, with average costs of US$69.2 (95%CI 56.7-81.7), among other services.

CONCLUSIONS: DM2 represents a high economic burden for this insurance company, as a prevalent disease in Colombia. Drugs, consults by specialists, labs. & Images were the most used services for these patients. This study provides inputs to conduct cost-effectiveness analysis of health technologies for DM2.