Examination of medical and non-medical direct costs of outpatients and hospitalized cancer patients in Shiraz, Iran

Objective (s): With more than 12 million new cases of cancers and nearly 7.6 million deaths all around the world in 2007, cancer currently is the third leading cause of death in the world. This study was conducted to determine medical and non-medical direct costs of cancer patients’ hospitalized in Namazi Hospital in Shiraz, Iran. This was a cross-sectional study. All patients over 20 years old with cancer including breast, prostate, leukemia, lymphatic, stomach, liver, lung, bladder, uterine and intestine cancers. Initially eligible patients invited to participate in this study. The data was collected through structured interviews with patients and or their caregivers. The data, then, was analyzed using the SPSS software The mean of non-medical direct costs for one month was 2,470,000±2,860,000 Rials. The mean of medical direct costs for one month was 21,550,000±16,980,000 Rials. The mean of total costs paid by patients was 24,020,000±17,300,000 Rials for one month. Patients pay a huge cost for cancer treatment. In order to support patients, health care system should find ways to decrease out-of-pocket payments by cancer patients.