Hospitalization costs of patients with Covid-19: A study in Tehran University of Medical Sciences

Introduction: The present study was carried out to analyze the costs involved with COVID-19 in one of the largest hospitals in Iran. Methods: In this descriptive study, the total costs of hospitalization in Imam Khomeini Hospital affiliated to Tehran University of Medical Sciences for COVID-19 confirmed patients were analyzed until April 17, 2020. Data were extracted by reviewing patient record bills, and analyzed using descriptive and analytical statistics in SPSS 21. Results: Data related to 1324 patients with COVID-19 were analyzed. Totally, 32.4% of all hospitalized patients had comorbidities, and 13.7% required intensive care and were admitted to the ICU. The average cost per hospitalized patient was 33,121,029 Rials (US $ 209.22), but this average had a high standard deviation (66,936,158 Rials, US $ 422.82). There was a significant difference in costs based on the length of stay (P=0.000), ICU hospitalization (P=0.000), presence of comorbidities (P=0.002), age (P=0.002) and gender (P=0.002), but the results of path analysis showed that only the variables of length of stay and hospitalization in the ICU had a direct effect on the costs and other factors had indirect effects. Conclusion: COVID-19 is imposing significant costs on the health system, a significant proportion of which belongs to the length of hospital stay and the need to intensive care units. Directing resources to expand timely diagnostic capacity and manage disease in the early stages can both reduce the financial burden of providing highly costly inpatient services.