Positive Health Online

Abstract

VAN HASELEN and colleagues, Royal London Homoeopathic Hospital, UK conducted a study to measure the marginal costs of providing complementary medicine services (mostly homeopathy) in outpatient clinics for patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Background

Methodology

The authors conducted a retrospective, observational costing study at the outpatient clinic of the Royal London Homoeopathic Hospital. Recruited were a random sample of 89 patients from the 427 RA patients attending outpatient clinics from April 1995 to March 1996. Main outcome measures were the marginal costs incurred by the hospital of treating 89 patients attending outpatient clinics and the relative contribution of the differing resources to the total costs.

Results

The total costs of treating 89 patients were £7124, of which £543 was assumed to be fixed and the remainder variable. The authors present the marginal costs of treating additional patients, starting from zero patients treated. Consultation time (doctors and dietician) contributed to 29% of the total costs, non-conventional drugs contributed to 22% of the total costs.

Conclusion

Understanding the marginal costs of providing complementary care to RA patients will inform the debate over whether these therapies are likely to be cost-effective. Additionally, those wishing to explore the practicalities of establishing a service involving complementary medicine will gain an understanding of the likely provider costs. The cost of complementary medicine would appear to be most sensitive to the time spent between the doctor and patient.

References

van-Haselen RA et al. The costs of treating rheumatoid arthritis patients with complementary medicine: exploring the issue. Complementary Therapies in Medicine 7(4): 217-21. Dec 1999.