Economic Burden of Personality Disorders in Mental Health Care
2008
This paper aimed to investigate the economic burden of patients with personality disorders in mental health care. The direct and indirect costs were assessed for 1740 study participants with a clinical diagnosis of personality disorders using the Trimbos and Institute for Medical Technology Assessment Questionnaire on Costs Associated with Psychiatric Illness.
Results indicated that the mean total costs in the 12 months prior to treatment were €11,126 per patient. Two thirds (66.5%) of these costs consisted of direct medical costs, while the remaining costs were related to productivity losses. Borderline and obsessive- compulsive personality disorders were uniquely associated with increased mean total costs.
The authors conclude that this treatment-seeking patient group poses a high economic burden on society and that thus effective treatments should be prioritized in reimbursement decisions.
Economic Burden of Personality Disorders in Mental Health Care
Source:
Soeteman DI, Roijen LH, Verheul R et al. The Economic Burden of Personality Disorders in Mental Health Care. The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry 2008; 69 (2): 259-265. http://www.psychiatrist.com/jcp/article/Pages/2008/v69n02/v69n0212.aspx
Not open access.