THE USE AND COST OF HOSPITAL SERVICES BY LONDON AIDS PATIENTS WITH DIFFERENT AIDS-DEFINING CONDITIONS

Background Contracting for HIV service provision is now an established part of the National Health Service commissioning process. AIDS is a heterogeneous condition, comprising Various opportunistic illnesses wh ich require different services and which have different resource impli cations. This study describes the use of hospital services and associa ted costs for the management of different AIDS defining conditions. Me thod A retrospective case-notes analysis was performed, of 335 AIDS pa tients treated at St Mary's Hospital, London, between 1 January 1983 e nd 30 September 1989, as well as a costing exercise of 37 clinical dep artments to calculate HIV-related costs. Results Mean age at time of A IDS diagnosis for these predominantly homosexual men was 38 years. Use of services varied. as did associated costs - from pound 8163 per pat ient-year for patients with Constitutional Disease to pound 42124 for those with Cytomegalovirus Disease. Most diagnostic categories showed a shift over the study period from an in-patient- to an out-patient-ba sed service. Patients diagnosed after 1987 had overall lower costs per patient-year compared with those diagnosed before 1987; whereas out-p atient costs for most groups had increased, in-patient expenditure dec reased. For most categories, in-patient care costs and out-patient dru gs prescribed provided the greatest proportion of total costs. Average costs per in-patient day ranged from pound 334 to pound 433, and aver age costs per out-patient visit ranged from pound 99 to pound 411 for different AIDS defining conditions. Conclusions Different opportunisti c illnesses of symptomatic HIV disease have different treatment and re source implications. Casemix will need to be taken into consideration when contracting for HIV services, including extra-contractual referra ls.