Sun Yat-sen University Reports Findings in Parkinson’s Disease (Direct Medical Costs of Parkinson’s Disease in Southern China: A Cross-Sectional Study Based on Health Insurance Claims Data in Guangzhou City): Neurodegenerative Diseases and Conditions – Parkinson’s Disease

2022 MAR 31 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- New research on Neurodegenerative Diseases and Conditions - Parkinson’s Disease is the subject of a report. According to news reporting out of Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China, by NewsRx editors, research stated, “Parkinson’s disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder. This study aims to evaluate the direct medical costs of patients with PD using a large sample from an entire city and to identity the potential factors correlating with their inpatient costs in Guangzhou City, Southern China.”

Funders for this research include National Natural Science Foundation of China, China Medical Board Open Competition Research Project.

Our news journalists obtained a quote from the research from Sun Yat-sen University, “This retrospective cross-sectional study uses data obtained from the Urban Employee-based Basic Medical Insurance (UEBMI) and the Urban Resident-based Basic Medical Insurance (URBMI) administrative claims databases in Guangzhou City from 2008 to 2012. The total sample was comprised of 2660 patients with PD. Costs were evaluated for the total sample and by types of insurance. The composition of costs was compared between the UEBMI and URBMI subgroups. The extended estimating-equations model was applied to identify the potential impact factors influencing the inpatient costs. The direct medical costs per patient with PD were CNY 14,514.9 (USD 2299.4) in 2012, consisting of inpatient costs of CNY 13,551.4 and outpatient costs of CNY 963.5. The medication costs accounted for the largest part (50.3%). The inpatient costs of PD patients under the UEBMI scheme (CNY 13,651.0) were significantly higher than those of patients in the URBMI subgroup (CNY 12,402.2) (< 0.05). The proportion of out-of-pocket spending out of inpatient and outpatient costs for UEBMI beneficiaries (24.3% and 56.1%) was much lower than that for patients under the URBMI scheme (47.9% and 76.2%). The regression analysis suggested that types of insurance, age, hospital levels, length of stay (LOS) and comorbidities were significantly correlated with the inpatient costs of patients with PD. The direct medical costs of patients with PD in China were high compared to the GDP per capita in Guangzhou City and different between the two evaluated types of insurance. Patients with the UEBMI scheme, of older age, with comorbidities, staying in tertiary hospitals and with longer LOS had significantly higher inpatient costs.”

According to the news editors, the research concluded: “Thus, policymakers need to reduce the gaps between the two urban insurance schemes in benefit levels, provide support for the development of a comprehensive long-term care insurance system and promote the use of telemedicine in China.”

For more information on this research see: Direct Medical Costs of Parkinson’s Disease in Southern China: A Cross-Sectional Study Based on Health Insurance Claims Data in Guangzhou City. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2022;19(6):3238. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health can be contacted at: Mdpi, St Alban-Anlage 66, Ch-4052 Basel, Switzerland.

Our news journalists report that additional information may be obtained by contacting Wenjing Zhou, School of Public Health, Sun Yat-sen University, No. 74, Zhongshan 2nd Road, Guangzhou 510080, People’s Republic of China. Additional authors for this research include Hui Zhang and Donglan Zhang.

The direct object identifier (DOI) for that additional information is: https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19063238. This DOI is a link to an online electronic document that is either free or for purchase, and can be your direct source for a journal article and its citation.

Publisher contact information for the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health is: Mdpi, St Alban-Anlage 66, Ch-4052 Basel, Switzerland.

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