Health care costs associated with Australian tertiary inflammatory bowel disease care

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: We aimed to describe the total costs of illness for IBD patients and compare the costs of patients with active disease to those with inactive disease. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Resource use for IBD management was itemized for attributable costs (AUD) among all IBD patients over a 12-month period at an Australian hospital. RESULTS: One hundred and eighty-three patients were included (87 ulcerative colitis (UC); 93 Crohn's disease (CD); three IBD-unclassified). The median (IQR) annual overall cost was higher in the CD versus UC group ($15,648 versus $5017; p < .001). The difference in cost between CD and UC was influenced by the difference in outpatient costs for CD patients..