Original article. The cost of individual health care in Serbia according to the international classification of diseases in the period 2010–2015

Abstract

Summary Introduction There is growing interest in the world for estimating the cost for the treatment of a disease. This value can be used to determine to which extent a particular disease or group of diseases burden society in terms of the global crisis (Segel 2006). In 2000, Organization for Economic Countries Development (OECD) established a System of Health Accounts (SHA), and provided methodological guide for calculating the cost of treating the disease. The aim of this study was to determine the cost of individual health care in the Republic of Serbia according to the major International Classification of Diseases (ICD) for the period 2010-2015. Material and Methods A retrospective and comparative analysis of health statistics from the database of the Institute of Public Health of Serbia (IPHS) and financial information provided by the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) in the period 2010-2015 was performed. Financial information and data on hospital services, outpatient, home health care, auxiliary health care services, drug consumption and consumer goods in healthcare were analyzed using SHA methodology. Results showed that during observation period the maximum cost of individual health care in Serbia by main classification ICD was achieved in 2015 and it was 194,128,864,011 RSD (€1,580,853,941; $1,764,807,854) and the minimal cost was achieved in 2010, 151,333,139,835 RSD (€1,434,464,541; $1,908,843,843). Conclusion The cost of individual health care in the Republic of Serbia in the period 2010-2015 increased by thirty percent. The highest amount was allocated to treat people with diseases of the circulatory system.