Abstract
Introduction: We estimated the healthcare costs for elderly and middle-aged patients over six months in 2015 at King Khalid University Hospital (KKUH); evaluated the impact of age, sex, marital status, presence of a chronic condition, and education level on these costs; and estimated patients' out-of-pocket expenses.
Methods and Material: This cross-sectional study targeted 246 elderly (aged >= 60 years) and middle-aged (aged 45-59 years) patients at KKUH, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. We distributed self-administered, paper-based questionnaires to in- and out-patents. Then, out-of-pocket expenses were estimated and medical files were reviewed to estimate healthcare costs over a period of six months.
Results: Of the 229 participants, 142 (65.7%) were middle-aged and 87 (34.3%) were elderly. Further, 124 (54.9%) were women, 186 (80.7%) were married; 51 (23.2%) were illiterate and 54 (23.2%) had a university level education; 161 (70.6%) lived in Riyadh; 207 (91.4%) had at least one chronic condition; 138 (59.2%) had diabetes, 118 (50.6%) had hypertension, and 109 (46.8%) had hyperlipidemia; 106 (45.5%) used private out-patient services and 18 (7.7%) used private in- patient services in the last six months; 134 (57.5%) paid for medications in the last six months; and 98 (42.1%) bought medical aids in the last six months. Middle-aged and elderly participants' healthcare costs were 5821.6 and 9774 Saudi riyals per head, respectively. Body Mass index and Presence of Chronic conditions were significantly associated with total healthcare costs (P-value <.017 and .013 respectively). Gender and Body Mass Index (BMI) were significantly associated with total out-of-pocket expenses (P-value .0.014 and .002 respectively).
Conclusions: Elderly patients incur more healthcare costs and pay more than do middle-aged patients. There is a need to find more cost-effective ways of caring for growing number of elderly people. Further studies addressing healthcare costs among multicentered nationwide governmental hospitals are recommended.