The outpatient cost of diabetes care in Italian diabetes centers

Objective: To provide resource utilization patterns and cost estimates of outpatient care for types I and II diabetes mellitus in Italy, based on retrospectively collected data. Design: Multicenter, retrospective observational study analyzing individual costs in a sample of patients with diabetes mellitus. Study population: A total of 2260 patients were stratified into eight groups by type of diabetes, glycemic control, and age. Setting: Thirty-five centers for diabetes care in Italy. Results: The per-patient cost of treatment was €136.8 in two months for type I diabetes (N = 592) and €123.3 for type II diabetes (N = 1668). Pharmaceutical therapy consisting of antidiabetic drugs only accounted for only 32% to 36% of treatments cost in type I patients and between 13% and 24% in type II. Diagnostic tests accounted for 27% to 42% of treatment costs in patients with both type I and type II diabetes, day-hospital days accounted for 15% to 22% in type I, 25% to 27% in type II, and consultations accounted for 16% to 20% in type I patients and between 17% and 21% in type II diabetes. Conclusion: Despite limitations caused by the short period considered, and considering that in Italy the cost of diabetes has received limited attention, we believe this study presents some interesting information on the burden of diabetes in this country