THE PATIENT PROFILE APPROACH TO ASSESSING THE COST OF AIDS AND HIV-INFECTION

Despite interest in the costs associated with HIV infection, little us eful information exists to aid those planning patient care. The result s of costing studies, which are mainly North American, are difficult t o apply to the National Health Service. Moreover, they have generally ignored HIV infection before formal diagnosis of AIDS. A patient profi le approach was devised to supply data on the type, amount and cost of services supplied to patients in the Northern region. This method pro duces longitudinal treatment and cost profiles, and provides a tempora l perspective, which is essential given the speed at which care has ch anged to date. This method also allows identification of a wide array of services, costs and social factors. This paper describes a pilot st udy to develop and test these methods. The sample of 24 randomly selec ted patients constituted a heterogeneous group; the individuals affect ed, the type and number of services supplied and costs all varied wide ly. A typical patient could not be described. Our results illustrate t he powerful analyses which this approach permits. Further application will allow improved evaluation of the overall costs and the effects of different patterns of care.