Direct Health Costs of a High Blood Pressure Program in a Health Insurance Company in Colombia

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the direct health costs derived from the arterial hypertension program in an EPS in Colombia during 2022.

METHODS: The elaborated study is retrospective, which is part of a quantitative methodology through a cross-sectional descriptive investigation, an analysis of care costs was carried out in patients diagnosed with arterial hypertension belonging to the chronic program, in an Entity that Promotes Health Services. Health (EPS) in Colombia, the frequency of use was used according to the services provided, and the cost of care. A total of 57,961 records that met the defined inclusion criteria were analyzed.

RESULTS: The total cost of the program was EUR 10,898,053 (49,654,580,923 COP), where the highest cost was represented by diagnostic and complementary aids with 42% of the total cost, followed by hospitalization with 29.2%, consultations with 19.7%, and finally medications with 8.2%. the cost of the program corresponds to 3.10% of the capitation payment unit of the EPS

CONCLUSIONS: The results obtained in terms of costs were different from the results obtained in other studies carried out in the Colombian context, however in terms of demographic variables the data were similar. Not enough recent studies on the costs of hypertension in Colombia were found.