The burden of inpatient costs in inflammatory bowel disease and opportunities to optimize care: A single metropolitan Australian center experience

Conference presentation: Part of the data from this study has been presented in abstract form at Digestive Disease Week, Chicago, May 31st 2009.Background and aims: Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) causes significant morbidity, frequently resulting in hospital admission and resection surgery. However, little is known about: 1. how IBD patients' inpatient healthcare utilisation compares to other inpatients and 2. whether there are potentially modifiable factors which may influence this. Methods: Over five months a cohort of admitted IBD patients were acquired and each assigned five admitted, age and gender matched controls at a single tertiary center. Data compared over 15months included: total cumulative length of stay (TLoS), number of admissions (index and subsequent re-admissions), inpatient costs, care complexity (defined by relative stay index [RSI]), and disease-specific factors amongst the IBD cohort. Data were confirmed by case notes review. Results: There were 102 IBD patients and 510 controls (median age 44years, 57% female). IBD patients had more re-admissions (mean 1.72 vs 1.55, p=0.002) and longer TLoS (median 6.8 vs 3.4days, p<0.0001) than controls. Both median cumulative cost of inpatient healthcare and RSI were also higher in IBD compared to controls ($7052 vs $5470 and RSI 362% vs 293%, each p