The health economics of asthma and rhinitis. I. Assessing the economic impact

As new health care strategies compete with existing ones for limited resour ces, the health care system and its providers are beginning to turn to heal th economic analyses to help inform choices in the delivery of care. This 2 -part review examines the current health economic literature fur asthma and rhinitis. This first installment of the review focuses on studies that cha racterize the economic burden of asthma and rhinitis and examines how resou rces are allocated to the care of persons with asthma and rhinitis, In 1998 , asthma in the United States accounted fur an estimated 12.7 billion dolla rs annually, Similarly, in 1994, allergic rhinitis was estimated to cost 1. 2 billion dollars, Most of the costs for these conditions are attributed to direct medical expenditures, with medications emerging as the single large st cost component. Indirect costs also represent an important social effect . While cost-of-illness studies help to characterize the economic burden, c omparative health economic: studies evaluate the value of new and existing strategies for clinical care. The second part of this review will explore h ow comparative studies have contributed to understanding how to best diagno se and treat asthma and allergic rhinitis.