Author/Authors :
Vaid, Haris M. School of Medicine - Queens University, Kingston, Canada , Camacho, Ximena The Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences, Toronto, Canada , Granton, John T. Department of Medicine -The University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada , Mamdani, Muhammad M. The Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences, Toronto, Canada , Yao, Zhan The Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences, Toronto, Canada , Singh, Samantha The Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences, Toronto, Canada , Juurlink, David N. The Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences, Toronto, Canada , Gomes, Tara The Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences, Toronto, Canada
Abstract :
Background. There are no Canadian prevalence studies on pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) to date. We described the
characteristics of treated PAH patients and the healthcare utilization and costs associated with PAH in a population of public drug
plan beneficiaries in Ontario, Canada. Methods. A retrospective cross-sectional analysis was conducted between April 2010 and
March 2011 to identify treated PAH patients using population-based health administrative databases. We investigated demographic
and clinical characteristics of treated PAH patients and conducted a cohort study to determine treatment patterns, healthcare
utilization, and associated costs, over a one-year follow-up period (March 2012). Results. We identified 326 treated PAH cases in
Ontario’s publicly funded drug plan. Overall mean age was 59.4 years (±20.3 years) and over 77% of cases were women (𝑛 = 251).
Combination therapy was used to treat 22.9% (𝑛 = 69) of cases, costing an average of $4,569 (SD $1,544) per month. Median
monthly healthcare costs were $264 (IQR $96–$747) for those who survived and $2,021 (IQR $993–$6,399) for those who died over
a one-year period, respectively (𝑝 < 0.01). Conclusions. PAH care in Ontario is complex and has high healthcare costs. This data
may help guide towards improved patient management.
