COPD & Health Care System

COPD and Health Care System in the United States

One US study conducted in 1995 found that the median length of hospital stay was 9 days for COPD (with a range between 5 and 15 days). The median cost of that stay was $7,100 (with a range of between $4,100 and $16 000). In the same study, 446 patients were readmitted to the hospital within 6 months for a total of 754 readmissions

In the US, the principal diagnosis for more than 16 million visits to physicians was COPD and related conditions.

COPD is ranked third in the most frequent diagnosis requiring home-care services.

COPD and Health Care System in Europe

In 1994, there were 203 193 hospital admissions for COPD in Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and England. The median length of stay was 9.9 days.

In the UK, a quarter of all primary care visits are related to respiratory disease. Of these, half are related to upper and lower respiratory tract infections. Similarly, a quarter of all hospital admissions are for the treatment of respiratory disease, and half of these patients have COPD.

The annual physician visit (consultation) rates for COPD in the UK increase as the age of the patient increases. Among people aged 45 to 64, the annual consulta­tion rate was 417 per 10 000 people. For people age 65 to 74, the rate increased to 886 per 10 000. And for people age 75 to 84, the rate increased even further to 1,032 per 10 000.

COPD and Health Care System Worldwide

An international study of COPD-related hospitalization trends revealed that although the average length of hospital stay was decreasing, the number of admissions is increasing in people who are over 45 years of age.

In Summary COPD and Health Care System;

• in 1995, the median length of hospital stay in the US was 9 days, for a median cost of $7,100
• the median length of hospital stay in the UK in 1994 was 9.9 days
• in the UK, 25% of all primary care visits are related to respiratory disease, and in the US, COPD and related conditions are responsible for more than 16 million primary care visits annually
• in the US, it is estimated that COPD costs an average of $1,522 per person per year
• in the UK, the medical cost of COPD in 1996 was approximately £846 million