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Estimation of costs due to hospitalization for first-ever stroke patients in northern Taiwan.

BACKGROUND
The need for healthcare services and the related costs for stroke patients may rise steadily in the future. Even with the predictable and substantial burden of stroke, little effort has been devoted to measuring the population-based direct medical and nonmedical costs in Taiwan.


METHODS
Data from the study "Epidemiological Study of Stroke, Diabetes, and Cardiovascular Disease," which included 8,705 people older than 35 years of age, and the study "Costs of Stroke," which included 660 first-ever stroke patients, were used for the cost calculations. The cost of hospital care for stroke patients was obtained in two steps. First, the incidence of stroke and readmissions within one year were tallied; the sum was then multiplied by the average length of stay. Second, the total medical and nonmedical costs were divided by the sum obtained from step 1. The resulting quotient obtained was the cost of hospital care for stroke patients per day.


RESULTS
There were 6,691 incidents of stroke and stroke-related readmissions in 1995 (4,041 men and 2,650 women). The total person-days of hospital stay were 233,569 days (144,264 for men and 89,305 days for women). The average medical and nonmedical costs of hospital care per person-day was US $251.4 (NT $6,788 at an exchange rate of US $1 = NT $27). Cost for men (US $287, NT $7,749) was more than for women (US $208, NT $5,616). The total direct costs of hospital care were US $58,710,000 (NT $1,585,000,000) in 1995.


CONCLUSIONS
An average of US $1,682,000 (NT $45,410,000) in hospital care costs for stroke could have been saved in 1995 if the person-day stay had been decreased by only one day.