Estimating the cost of poorly controlled asthma to the health system, using linked data (2018-2020)

A study conducted between July 2018 and February 2020 estimated that the cost of poorly controlled asthma to the healthcare system was over $AU4,600 per person per year.
Specifically, a study by the Woolcock Institute and George Institute, based on 341 participants 18 years old or older with poorly controlled asthma (ACQ score of at least 1.5) recruited through community pharmacies in NSW, Tasmania and WA, looked at real data from Medicare and PBS to calculate the actual yearly cost of asthma to the health system. The study found $AU386 adjusted monthly healthcare expenditure per participant ($4,632 per year), increasing by:
– $4 for each year increase in age
– $201 for being unemployed
– $35 per one unit change in worsening quality of life
– $171 for being diagnosed with depression and anxiety