Cost of care in Iranian hemophilic patients

Background: Lifetime treatment of persons with hemophilia entails a heavy financial burden. The main goal of this study was to determine the factors influencing care cost of hemophilia A in southern Iran. Methods: The present study comprised 88 of 170 hemophilia A patients who had been registered and virtually treated in Fars Hemophilia Treatment Center in southern Iran. The data concerning patients’ characteristics and medication schedules were collected from their past medical records and staff interviews. The scale utilized by the Hemophilia Utilization Group Study (HUGS) was used to assess the status of patients’ functional health. Results: The severe, moderate and mild deficiencies of factor VIII were found in 43.2%, 21.6% and 35.2% of 88 patients respectively. The mean age in the study group was 21.8 years (±12.2) and 58 (65.9%) enjoyed high health status. In regard to laboratory records, 25 (28.4%) patients were HCV-positive, 2 (2.3%) HBS-positive and all were HIV negative. The average cost of care for a patient with Hemophilia A was $8,510 (±8,066) and the total annual costs were significantly (p< 0.05) associated with: severity of arthropathy, presence of factor VIII inhibitor and its titer, severity of factor VIII deficiency, positive HCV infection and functional health status. Costs unrelated to foregoing factors included only 1% of the total. Conclusion: The total cost of patient care was correlated with severity of factor deficiency, arthropathy, positive HCV infection and functional health status. Financial resources to meet factorunrelated costs should increase, in order to provide patients with improved quality of medical care.