ABSTRACT
Goal: The aim of the study was to identify economic burden from hypertention in Ulaanbaatar and develop some recommenadations. Material and Method: The top down approach was used to calculate direct costs of hypertension in five hospitals of the secondary and tertiary levels. To calculate cost of hypertension financial reports and cost centres data were used. A self-administered questionnaire was used to calculate indirect costs from the disease. Patients, admitted to six UB district and three tertiary level hospitals due to hypertension filled in the questionnaire. Data was analysed using SPSS 15 programme.Results: Some 114 patients were surveyed. The average cost of hypertension was 143914 ± 38189.5 (average bed days 8.7) and 264756 ± 40760.4¥ (average bed days 9.5) in the selected district and tertiary level hospitals respectively. The average cost for per out-patient visit was 4237 ± 2123.5¥ in the selected district hospitals and 3,162 ± 308.3¥ in the selected tertiary level hospitals. The indirect costs included transport cost to and from hospital, food, transport cost of relatives to visit them, cost of medications, and some other expenses related to their admission. Average indirect cost of an admission of patients with the hypertension was 253,395 and 212,717.44¥ in district and tertiary level hospitals respectively. Economic burden from temporary loss of working ablility due to hypertension was 177.1 millions tugrigs. National average wage was 300500¥ in 2009. Some 65.8% of respondents used antihypertension drugs at least once a day and average cost was 653.4¥ per patient per day. Annual and 10 years drug use estimates were 238491 and 2.3 million tugrigs per patient respectively (Inflation and price changes were not counted).Conclusion: Indirect and direct costs for admission were 1.1 billion (49.6%) and 939 million (42.5%) tugrigs respectively. Cost of hypertension in Ulaanbaatar was 2.2 billion tugrigs in 2009 and it is 1.1% of total health sector financing.
