Objectives
We aimed to estimate the direct medical costs due to COVID-19 hospitalizations in Colombia.
Methods
We carried out a retrospective cost-of-illness study of COVID-19 confirmed patients treated at health facilities in 23 municipalities of 12 Colombian departments. We included third payer perspective: Colombian health system. Medical records are stored in a hospital management database that details the consumptions of each hospitalized patient, inventorying the health technology consumption of the patients selected for analysis. Patients were hospitalized from March 15 and May 29, 2020. Absolute and relative frequencies, averages, medians, and interquartile ranges (IQR) were used to characterize the population and estimate the direct medical costs. We stratified the cost analysis by sex, age groups, comorbidities, and type of hospitalization (general ward and intensive care unit - ICU). Costs were reported in American dollars (USD) (1USD = 3,903 Colombian pesos - COP).
Results
We studied 113 patients hospitalized by COVID-19, 51.3% men. On average, the hospital length of stay for COVID-19 hospitalized patient was 7,3 (± 6,2) days with a median cost of $1,688 (IQR 788-2,523). In women, the median direct medical cost of hospitalization was $1,328 (IQR $463-$2,098), while in men was 1.4 times greater. Being 60 years of age or older triggers hospitalization costs almost twice as high as those under this age ($1,813 vs. $2,994), and when the cost is compared by type of hospitalization, this difference is more than three times (ICU: 4,118; general ward: $1,312).
Conclusions
Costs incurred by COVID-19 patients generate a considerable impact for health system. Other studies in Colombia reported significantly lower hospitalization costs for infections such as influenza ($ 484 general ward and 3,044 in ICU). However, the costs of our study were much lower than those reported in COVID-19 in other countries.