Aspects of the application of «Cost of illness» indicator in the practice of healthcare managers

“The cost of illness” is a detailed index for assessing the socio-economic losses caused by illness and related disability and death in money terms. The indicator is used in a variety of tasks, including the prediction of the positive effect of the medical devices introduction planning of the complex of medical-diagnostic and preventive measures in the healthcare system. The authors discussed in detail the structure of containing cost of illness losses (costs) - direct, indirect and intangible, briefly describes the key techniques for assessing cost of illness. SWOT-analysis carried out in the paper proved that “strongs” and “opportunities” despite possible negative impact of the internal and external factors contribute to the successful use of the “cost of illness” indicator in a wide range of different applications. In an aspect of the problem the key indicators of the road transport situation in Russia are described and the comparison of some key performance indicators of road transport situation in the country and in the world was carried out. Using specific examples in the field of traffic injuries the expedieny of the effect of the cost of illness-consequence on the structure of the cost of illness-cause was shown. Based on the foregoing, the modification of the structure of “cost of illness” proposed, taking into account an additional element, which we called “additive” losses, determining the contribution of a disease or condition in the cost of the other, which is the root cause of it. In view of these results it was concluded that the economic “assessment of the cost” of various diseases in the context of their relationship is of interest both from a theoretical and applied perspectives, and deserves further detailed study.

healthcare system, key indicators, «cost of illness», social and economic damage, SWOT-analysis, traffic injuries