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An Exploratory Analysis of Healthcare Costs and Utilization of Pediatric Patients with Crohn’s Disease

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Abstract

Objective To evaluate the healthcare costs and resource utilization associated with pediatric Crohn’s disease (PCD) from a payer perspective. Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted using claims from 1 January 2003 through 31 December 2006 from the HealthCare Partners database. Patients were younger than 18 years of age, had a new diagnosis of PCD, and continuous health plan eligibility 6 months before and 12 months after the disease index date (the date of the first claim with a PCD diagnosis). For comparison, a non-PCD cohort was matched on age, sex, and birthday (within 30 days). Results Data from 30 patients with PCD and 10,864 non-PCD controls were included. The total cost per member per month (PMPM) for the PCD cohort was $2,547 compared with $101 for the non-PCD cohort. Inpatient admissions accounted for the largest portion (54%) of the total cost PMPM for PCD patients. There were 500 admissions per thousand members per year (PTMPY) for the PCD cohort and 11 admissions PTMPY for the non-PCD cohort. The average lengths of stay were 7.6 and 4.4 days for the PCD cohort and the non-PCD cohort, respectively, and the inpatient costs PMPM were $1,409 and $18, respectively. Costs and resource utilization were also higher for PCD patients treated with systemic therapies. Conclusion PCD was associated with higher costs and resource utilization, compared with non-PCD controls, primarily driven by inpatient stays. Treating PCD appropriately before the disease progresses to a level requiring hospitalization may help reduce the costs associated with this disease.

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Acknowledgments

This study was funded by Centocor, Inc., Horsham, PA. The authors would like to thank Rebecca E. Clemente, PhD, and Robert Achenbach of Centocor, Inc., for editorial support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centocor Ortho Biotech Services, LLC, 800 Ridgeview Drive, Horsham, PA, 19044, USA

    Heidi C. Waters, Rhadjena P. Hilliard, Mirza I. Rahman & Bijan Nejadnik

  2. HealthCare Partners, Inc., Torrance, CA, USA

    Elton Teng & Ron Ferrer

  3. HealthCare Partners Medical Group, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Juvairiya Pulicharam

Authors
  1. Heidi C. Waters
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  2. Rhadjena P. Hilliard
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  3. Elton Teng
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  4. Mirza I. Rahman
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  5. Ron Ferrer
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  6. Juvairiya Pulicharam
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  7. Bijan Nejadnik
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Heidi C. Waters.

Additional information

The authors HCW, RPH, MIR, and BN are or were employees of Centocor when this study was conducted and own stock in Johnson & Johnson, of which Centocor is a subsidiary. The authors ET, RF, and JP are employees of HealthCare Partners, Inc., which received funding from Centocor.

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Waters, H.C., Hilliard, R.P., Teng, E. et al. An Exploratory Analysis of Healthcare Costs and Utilization of Pediatric Patients with Crohn’s Disease. Dig Dis Sci 54, 2650–2654 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10620-008-0670-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10620-008-0670-7

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