COST ANALYSIS OF OUTPATIENT CARE FOR MENTAL AND BEHAVIORAL DISORDERS DUE TO PSYCHOACTIVE SUBSTANCE USE: A STUDY OF FOUR COMMUNITY AND TWO GENERAL HOSPITALS IN THAILAND

Abstract

This cost analysis study gathered cost information from four community and two general hospitals in the fiscal year 2014, including service data, hospital statistics, and financial information. This study aimed to estimate the treatment costs of outpatient care for mental and behavioral disorders (MBDs) due to psychoactive substance use, which are provided in the community and general hospitals in Thailand. We used ICD-10 codes F11-F19, to handle the diagnosis codes of MBDs due to psychoactive substances and cost analysis. The unit cost per OPD visit was analyzed according to the cost analysis guidelines of the Ministry of Public Health, Thailand, using two procedures: a traditional method and a cost -to-charge ratio. The inflation rate from 2015 to 2021 was employed to adjust the cost to demonstrate the actual cost in 2021. The majority of service expenses were labour costs (53%), followed by material costs (42%) and capital costs (6%). The unit cost per OPD visit for substance use disorders (SUD) in 2014 ranged between 172 and 762 THB. After being adjusted by the inflation rate to estimate the cost for 2021. The costs were growth in the range of 204 to 905 THB. The median cost estimated in 2021 from four community and two general hospitals, accounting for between 396 and 769 THB respectively. The unit SUD visit costs of OPD from these six hospitals were quite close to the unit costs of the drug treatment centers. Th e greatest proportion of the total service expenses was the labor cost. Accordingly, human res ources are believed to be a crucial challenge that needs to be considered and planned to deliver successful services. Notably, these hospitals were selected using purposive sampling and might not be representative of each hospital type. More hospitals should, therefore, be recruited in further research to represent the actual cost by hospital type. © The Author(s) 2023.