Hospitalization expense and its influencing factors among myocardial infarction patients

ObjectiveTo examine hospitalization expense and its main influencing factors among myocardial infarction patients and to provide references for controlling the excessive increase in medical expense.MethodsTotally 1 602 myocardial infarction patients in Tianjin city were recruited from January 2004 to December 2007.Descriptive analysis and multiple linear regression method were performed.ResultsThe mean hospitalization cost was 24 428.82 RMB Yuan per myocardial infarction patient in Tianjin from 2004 to 2007.The iterms of the hospitalization cost were medicine(5 726.42 Yuan,23.44%),inspection(2 279.89 Yuan,9.33%),treatment(3 017.60 Yuan,12.35%),surgery(396.66 Yuan,1.62%),bed fee(480.37 Yuan,1.97%),materials(12 389.22 Yuan,50.72%),whole blood transfusion(29.33 Yuan,0.12%),blood component transfusion(76.32 Yuan,0.31%),and other costs(33.00 Yuan,0.14%).The results of multiple linear regression showed that surgery,grade of hospital,social-economic status of the patient,number of admission,duration of hospitalization,and age were the main influencing factors of the hospitalization cost.ConclusionThe hospitalization expense of myocardial infarction patients should be reduced by decreasing the duration of hospitalization and controlling the unreasonable increase of material and medicine fee.