Abstract

Background: Globally, the prevalence of heart failure is increasing, with estimates ranging from 1% to 3% of the overall population and varies greatly by country. In addition to the clinical and social burden, heart failure also has a serious economic impact . However, in Vietnam, the published data on costs of heart failure is still limited.

Objectives: (1) To analyze the structure of the direct medical cost for hospitalized patients with heart failure at Hue University of Medicine and Pharmacy Hospital; (2) To evaluate factors associated with the direct medical cost.

Materials and method: A retrospective study was conducted on 204 inpatients with heart failure at Hue University of Medicine and Pharmacy Hospital in 2022 - 2023, from the payers’ perspective. Identifying factors affecting the healthcare cost by Bayesian Model Averaging (BMA).

Results: The reimbursement of the Health Insurance accounted for 85.0% of the total medical direct cost. The average amount of money spent on each hospitalization was 7,514,101 VND. The cost for bed occupied the highest proportion (26.6%), followed by the medical testing cost (24.9%), the cost for pharmaceuticals (22%), for medical supplies (12.6%) and for diagnostic imaging and functional exploration (10.4%). The BMA model showed that factors associated with the direct medical cost were the number of treatment days, type of treatment, the use of intensive care unit, and the comorbidity with pneumonia.

Conclusion: The hospitalization results in higher costs for heart failure treatment, especially the costs for bed days, examination, and medications. Participating in health insurance relieves the financial burden of patients. Appropriate management programs are needed to control factors affecting the healthcare costs for patients with heart failure