Hospitalization cost for ischemic patients in Beijing, 2008-2012

Objective To analyze the cost of hospitalization for ischemic stroke patients in hospitals in Beijing.Methods The study based on the data collected from 15 tertiary hospitals and 15 second-class hospitals in Beijing from 2008 to 2012.The study applied a descriptive design to investigate the hospitalization cost of ischemic stroke patients.Results Totally 74 198 ischemic stroke inpatients with a mean age of 67.2±11.7 years were included in the study, of which 67.0% were male.The average hospitalization cost of the inpatients was 17 789 Yuan(RMB).The average medication cost was 8 837 Yuan, accounting for a major part(49.7%) of total hospitalization cost.The hospitalization cost increased with the increment of age of the inpatients(P<0.05).The hospitalization cost for the inpatients stayed in tertiary hospitals was higher than that in second-class hospitals(19 345 Yuan vs. 14 321 Yuan, P<0.05).The hospitalization expenses for the ischemic stroke inpatients showed an increasing trend during the period from 2008 to 2012(P<0.05).Conclusion The burden of hospitalization cost of ischemic stroke inpatients is still heavy and increases in recent years in Beijing.The proportion of expenses for tradional Chinese medications in total hospitalization cost is higher than that in western countries.To control the increasing trend in hospitalization cost, comprehensive measures like standardizing medications utilization and reducing the mediations expenses should be adopted.