Abstract:
This study was cross-sectional retrospective research. The objectives were to
determine resources utilization of diabetic patients, and to identify factors affecting
medical expenditure. An electronic database of fiscal year 2002-2003 was retrieved
from one teaching and two general government hospitals and demographic
characteristics, medical history of illness, hospital utilization and medical expenditure
of all diabetic patients were identified. A multiple regression was used to examine
factors associated with medical expenditure.
Results revealed that the percentage of diabetes mellitus (DM) patients in 2003
(2.81-5.29%) increased from 2002 (2.30-4.57%). Over 60% of diabetic patients were
female and over 90% of them were over 40 years old. DM patients had a higher
hospital utilization rate than non-diabetes patients for both outpatient (OP) services
(6.82-8.33 and 2.65-3.16 visits respectively) and inpatient (IP) services (1.54-1.83 and
1.17-1.24 admissions respectively). In addition, diabetic patients with complications
and co-morbidity (CC) had a greater hospital utilization rate than those without.
Average medical expenditure of DM patients per year was higher than non-DM
for both OP (3,768-4,698 baht and 629-1,011 baht) and IP (13,754-26,439 baht and
5,476-11,330 baht) services. Moreover, DM with CC group had a medical expenditure
of about two times of those without CC group (19,189-24,848 and 9,577-11,071 baht
respectively). Drug expenditure was the major component of medical expenditure
(54.93-73.09% and 21.21-30.33% for OP and IP respectively).
Results from multiple regression models showed that the medical expenditures
were positively associated with age, teaching hospital, health insurance under CSMBS
program, having complications (cardiovascular disease, nephropathy and retinopathy),
co-morbidity (hypertension), prior utilization (total number of OP visits, IP admissions
and total hospital bed days), and insulin usage in both FY 2002 and 2003.
These findings indicated that DM patients had a higher use of health resources
than non-DM patients. Furthermore, patients with CC use more health resources than
those without CC. Determination of healthcare resource utilization can be done from
available electronic databases that provide useful information for health resource
management for hospital administrators