Hospitalisation costs of primary liver cancer in Australia: evidence from a data-linkage study
Anh Le Tuan Nguyen
A * , Christopher Leigh Blizzard A , Kwang Chien Yee B , Julie A. Campbell A , Andrew J. Palmer A and Barbara de Graaff A
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A Menzies Institute for Medical Research, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tas., Australia.
B School of Medicine, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tas., Australia.
* Correspondence to: al.nguyen@utas.edu.au
Australian Health Review 46(4) 463-470 https://doi.org/10.1071/AH21395
Submitted: 5 January 2022 Accepted: 15 April 2022 Published: 19 May 2022
© 2022 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing on behalf of AHHA.
Abstract
Objective This study aimed to estimate the public hospital costs associated with primary liver cancer (PLC) in the first and second years following the cancer diagnosis.
Methods This study linked administrative datasets of patients diagnosed with PLC in Victoria, Australia, from January 2008 to December 2015. The health system perspective was adopted to estimate the direct healthcare costs associated with PLC, based on inpatient and emergency costs. Costs were estimated for the first 12 months and 12–24 months after the PLC diagnosis and expressed in 2017 Australian dollars (A$). The cost estimated was then extrapolated nationally. The linear mixed model with a Box–Cox transformation of the costs was used to explore the relationship between costs and patients’ sociodemographic and clinical characteristics.
Results For the first 12 months, the total and annual per-patient cost was A$211.4 million and A$63 664, respectively. Costs for the subsequent year were A$49.7 million and A$46 751, respectively. Regarding the cost extrapolation to Australia, the total cost was A$137 million for the first 12 months after notification and A$42.6 million for the period from 12 to 24 months. Higher costs per episode of care were mostly associated with older age, hepatocellular carcinoma type of PLC, metropolitan hospitals, and Asian birth region.
Conclusion This study showed the public hospital admission and emergency costs associated with PLC and the substantial economic burden this cancer has placed on the Australian health system.
Keywords: cholangiocarcinoma, cost extrapolation, cost of illness, data linkage, emergency costs, health economics, hepatocellular carcinoma, hospitalisation costs, primary liver cancer.
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