Leqi Wang, Chunping Wang, Yingying Zheng, Peijin Li, Kai Huang, Xuejun Jiang, Haonan Li, Zeqi Zheng, Wei Li, Fang Qin, Lian Wang, Chongyou Lee, Yanli Long, Junnan Tang, Lianjun Xu, Carolyn S P Lam, Sheng Han, Lei Song
This study provides evidence on inpatient medical costs and their associated factors, serving as a reference for understanding the real-world cost profile and informing cost management of cardiomyopathy in tertiary healthcare settings.
BACKGROUND: Characterising treatment patterns and costs is essential for understanding healthcare utilisation and informing cost management. We aimed to assess these aspects among hospitalised patients with cardiomyopathy.
METHODS: We conducted a multicentre study at 11 tertiary hospitals across China, systematically extracting electronic medical records from 2017 to 2022. Factors associated with medical costs were analysed using generalised linear regression with cluster-robust standard errors.
FINDINGS: Among 15,764 medical records of adult inpatients with cardiomyopathy, medical therapy alone (81.5%; 12,853/15,764) was the most common treatment pattern. The mean direct medical cost per hospitalisation for all admissions was $6294 ($11,564) and the median cost was $2152 (IQR $1248, $4931), with variation across cardiomyopathy subtypes. Admissions to the national centre (Exp(β) 1.529 [95% confidence interval 1.242-1.882]), New York Heart Association functional class III/IV (Exp(β) 1.371 [1.169-1.608]), and combination therapies (vs. medical therapy alone: medical and interventional Exp(β) 6.685 [5.098-8.766]; medical and surgical 7.537 [6.213-9.143]; all three 10.718 [7.579-15.157]) were associated with higher costs, whereas insurance coverage (Exp(β) 0.773 [0.642-0.932]) was associated with lower costs.
INTERPRETATION: This study provides evidence on inpatient medical costs and their associated factors, serving as a reference for understanding the real-world cost profile and informing cost management of cardiomyopathy in tertiary healthcare settings.
FUNDING: The Noncommunicable Chronic Diseases-National Science and Technology Major Project, the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences (CAMS) Innovation Fund for Medical Sciences, the National High Level Hospital Clinical Research Funding, and the Science and Technology Department of Heilongjiang Province.