The economic burden of depression in psychiatric disorders

Psychiatric disorders are very common, but their economic costs are not calculated transparently, while they are associated with significant economic consequences. This study aimed to investigate the direct and indirect costs of psychiatric disorders in 2017.

The present cross-sectional study was performed on all psychiatric patients admitted to hospitals in Ibn-e-Sina and Hejazi hospitals of Mashhad (northeastern Iran). According to the International book of ICD10, the medical records of psychiatric patients admitted with the Code of Mental and Behavioral Disorders (F32-F33.9) were first identified and their costs of hospitalization were extracted and investigated from the Hospital Information System. The Top-Down Approach was used to estimate the costs. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data.

During the study period, 6896 patients were discharged, of which 1915 (28%) had mood disorders and among the mood patients, 300 (16%) had depression. The highest treatment cost for psychiatric patients was paid by insurance (93%). The average length of stay in the hospital was 23.6 days, and the average cost of each patient was $ 1020. The greatest cost of depression patients is related to hoteling (62%) and doctor's visit (24%).

Policymakers can use technical and operational methods to detect and eliminate the causes of adverse deviations to improve productivity and efficiency. Cost savings by providing healthcare prevention services can reduce the direct costs of hospitals.