OBJECTIVES

: The aim of the study was to examine the total healthcare costs from the national patient register in Sweden between 2005 and 2014 amongst prevalent patients with heart failure (HF).

METHODS

: Adult patients (≥18 years of age) with ≥2 diagnoses of HF, based on ICD-10 diagnostic codes between January 1^st, 2005 and 2014, were identified by using secondary care data from the National Patient Register (NPR). Total number of hospitalizations, length of stay, and outpatient visits were estimated per annum and further stratified by cardiovascular disease (CVD)- and HF-related resource use according to assigned ICD-10 diagnosis codes. Associated costs were estimated based on diagnosis-related group (DRG) codes. All costs were inflated to SEK 2015 values.

RESULTS

: The absolute number of patients with HF in Sweden increased approximately 1.5 times between 2005 and 2014, from 89,837 to 133,220. The total annual costs for patients with HF increased from 6,237 billion SEK to 9,979 billion SEK, mainly driven by an increase in overall resource use (60%). On average, CVD-related costs corresponded to 80% of the total cost for HF patients, and of these HF-related costs corresponded to 64%. Inpatient and outpatient costs represented, on average 85% and 15% of the total cost, respectively. During the study period the number of hospitalizations increased by 28%, hospital days by 17% (indicating a decreased mean length of stay), ER visits by 50% and outpatient visits by 89%.

CONCLUSIONS

: Total cost of care for patients with HF increased by more than 3 billion SEK during 10 years, a trend that was driven by increased inpatient costs. In summary, care for patients with HF represents an ever-increasing financial burden to the Swedish health care system. Improved patient care and interventions that reduce hospitalizations can help alleviate the anticipated future burden to patients and health care providers.