Page 177 - Timeliness of Infectious Disease Notification & Response Systems - Corien Swaan

Organisations
peripheral hospitals academic hospitals ambulance services MHSs
GPs
virological laboratory RIVM
Total
Mean total Percentage costs %
base case
4.8 38 3.6 29 1.5 12 1.2 10 1.1 8 0.3 2 0.2 2 12.6 100
Range Mean total costs
including overheada
2.4-8.0 6.8 1.8-7.1 4.5 0.9-2.4 1.7 0.5-3.1 2.6 0.8-1.4 1.5 0.2-0.3 0.3 0.2 0.5
6.7-22.5 17.9
Range
3.4-11.3 2.1-8.9 1.0-2.7 1.0-6.7 1.1-2.0 0.3-0.4 0.5 9.4-32.6
Costs of Ebola preparedness and response in the Netherlands 175
activities of academic hospitals (admissions of suspected cases) were 18.82% (range 11.42-31.19 %) of total costs of all academic hospitals. The costs related to the admission of the infected UN patient comprised 44.8% of all EVD-related costs of the academic hospital that cared for him.
Table 3. Total costs of EVD preparedness and response in Euros (X million)
a Wages are increased to account for overhead costs, depreciation, and housing costs
Discussion and conclusions
The estimated total costs of EVD preparedness and response in the Netherlands were substantial: on average €12.6 million (UI: €6.7 million-€22.5 million), al- though that figure is (only) 0.6% of the country’s routine annual expenditures on prevention and treatment of infectious diseases (€2.2 billion in 2011 [30]). Taking into account the overhead costs of the various organisations would raise total costs by 42%. Thirteen possible and a single confirmed EVD case were evaluated, respectively treated, in a hospital.
Costs for healthcare organisations were higher than for public health or- ganisations. Hospital EVD preparations required unusually high resources, which were diverted from routine infection prevention activities. Costs incurred by an academic hospital were much higher than those incurred by a peripheral hospital, since more divisions were involved in preparation for a possible EVD admission. At each academic hospital, several management and medical pro- fessionals were occupied full-time with EVD preparedness for about half a year.
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