The Economic Burden of Chronic Psychotic Disorders in Ontario.

DISCUSSION AND LIMITATIONS: The direct net costs of treating patients with chronic psychotic disorders are substantial and represent a sizeable portion of the Ontario health care budget (3%). Previous research has found similar findings in other jurisdictions. These estimates do not account for costs of addiction services. IMPLICATIONS FOR HEALTH CARE PROVISION AND USE: Our results suggest there are important utilization/cost differences between age groups. As patients with chronic psychotic disorders become older chronic disease and disability become more prominent, as reflected in higher costs with long-term care and non-psychiatric hospitalizations. IMPLICATIONS FOR HEALTH POLICIES: These findings highlight the need for health care systems to address both physical and mental illness simultaneously, especially for older patients with chronic psychotic disorders. IMPLICATIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH: Future research should focus on the predictors of care over the life course of patients with chronic psychotic disorders. In addition, further work should examine how the interplay between mental and physical health contribute to increased costs among patients with psychosis. PMID: 27991417 [PubMed - in process]
Source: Journal of Mental Health Policy and Economics - Category: Psychiatry Tags: J Ment Health Policy Econ Source Type: research