COST DIVERSITY OF DRG BASED COLORECTAL CANCER THERAPIES IN HUNGARY
Author(s)
Gabor Jozsa, MD, Researcher University of West Hungary, Sopron, Hungary
Objective: In Hungary, costs of anti-cancer treatments are covered by hospitals' budget, and funds for therapy expenditures provided from the National Health Fund Administration, based on DRG accounts. The goal was to investigate the real cost of treatments, and assess a comparison of DRG based remittance and expenditures of therapies. Methods: Cost analysis of CRC chemotherapy-protocols has been conducted from the perspective of Oncology Departments. Regimens of 5-fluorouracil+/-leukovorin, irinotecan, cetuximab, bevacizumab and oxaliplatin have been investigated, focusing on cost of medication, hospitalisation and total expenditure of protocols. Results: Real expenditures of protocols were assessed. The range of drug related costs were USD$18.20-3085.80 as expenditures of hospitals. Total expenditures of chemotherapy-regimens have been assessed and compared to allocation of remittances from the National Health Fund Administration. The value of remittances have been found between USD$405.70 and USD$2875.20 , depending on protocols. The gap analysis of drug expenditures and remittances has resulted in a wide range of USD$-347 to USD$1611 . The ratio of drug related expenditures and total remittance of hospitals showed diversity from 5% to 107%. Conclusion: The analysis showed that fixed DRG values had not represented real expenditures of chemotherapies of CRC treatment. Remittances should have been validated regularly. Neither priority, nor incentive elements, have been found in protocols containing molecules with superior efficacy or improved safety. In general, Oncology Departments are motivated to use protocols, containing generic compounds with low expenditures and to achieve significant savings in hospitals' budget.
Conference/Value in Health Info
2008-05, ISPOR 2008, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Value in Health, Vol. 11, No. 3 (May/June 2008)
Code
PCN16
Topic
Economic Evaluation
Topic Subcategory
Cost-comparison, Effectiveness, Utility, Benefit Analysis
Disease
Oncology