Department of Pharmacy Practice, Srinivas College of Pharmacy, Valachil, Mangalore, 575029
Hypertension is a chronic disease that requires lifelong therapy, which may impose economic burden on patients. The objective of this study was to analyse cost of illness [using direct medical cost] among hypertensive subjects. Materials and method: A prospective observational study was conducted at a tertiary care hospital in Dakshina Kannada for period of 6 months. 150 hypertensive patients who were on at least one antihypertensive medication, admitted to in-patient department were included for the cost of illness study. Result: According to the study, 54% of hypertensive subjects were above 60- 75 years of age. The average number of drugs per prescription was 9.7 ± 3.78 and majority of total direct cost was attributed to medication and medical supplies cost (44%) followed by laboratory cost (28%). Conclusion: The study concludes that as medication cost was the major contributor to the healthcare expenses, reducing the cost by prescribing drugs by their generic name would not only reduce cost burden on patients, but also improve adherence.
Ramakrishna Shabaraya A., Shreeraksha K., Suchetha Kumari, A Prospective Study On Cost Of Illness Among Hypertensive Inpatients At A Tertiary Care Hospital In Dakshina Kannada, Int. J. in Pharm. Sci., 2023, Vol 1, Issue 11, 25-32. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10061004