| ORIGINAL ARTICLE |
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| Year : 2017 | Volume
: 33
| Issue : 3 | Page : 262-268 |
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Cost-of-treatment of clinically stable severe mental lilnesses in India
Siddharth Sarkar1, K Mathan2, Sreekanth Sakey2, Subahani Shaik2, Karthick Subramanian2, Shivanand Kattimani2
1 Department of Psychiatry and NDDTC, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India
2 Department of Psychiatry, Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research, Puducherry, India
Correspondence Address:
Siddharth Sarkar
Department of Psychiatry and NDDTC, Room no 4096, 4th Floor, Teaching Block, AIIMS, Ansari Nagar, New Delhi
India
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None  | Check |
DOI: 10.4103/0971-9962.214600
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Background and Aims: The cost-of-treatment studies can help to make informed decisions while planning health-care services. This study is aimed to assess direct costs of outpatient treatment of four common chronic severe mental illnesses in a tertiary care hospital in South India. Methods: The patients with ICD-10 diagnoses of schizophrenia, unspecified nonorganic psychosis, bipolar disorder, and recurrent depression were recruited by purposive sampling from a government teaching hospital in South India. The total cost-of-treatment to the patient and the hospital was computed for each disorder as a percentage of the per-capita income of an individual patient. Results: The study comprised a total of 140 patients. The average monthly total cost-of-treatment was Indian Rupees (INR) 770 (95% confidence interval of 725 to 815), or approximately US$ 12.8. The monthly total cost-of-treatment was INR 720 for schizophrenia, INR 750 for unspecified nonorganic psychosis, INR 830 for bipolar disorder, and INR 790 for recurrent depression, with no significant differences between groups. On an average, 22.8% of total cost-of-treatment was borne by the patient, and the rest by the hospital. The patients spent a median of 12% of their per-capita income on treatment related to direct costs. Conclusions: Despite substantial government subsidies, patients do incur some expenses in treatment of chronic psychiatric illnesses. The attempts to reduce treatment and travel costs can facilitate psychiatric care to larger number of individuals.
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