Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #109559

Douglas Leslie, PhD, Psychiatry, Yale University, NEPEC 182, 950 Campbell Ave, New Haven, CT 06516, 203/932 5711 x 4015, douglas.leslie@yale.edu and Andrés Martin, MD, Yale Child Study Center, Yale University School of Medicine, 230 S. Frontage Rd., New Haven, CT 06520-7900.

The costs of treating patients with autism are largely unknown, but the few studies that have addressed this issue suggest that they are substantial. With an estimated prevalence of 10 cases per 10,000, autism is clearly a costly disorder, yet very little is known about the kinds of services patients with autism receive and their costs. This study uses data from a national health insurance claims database for the years 1998 through 2001 to examine clinical and demographic characteristics of patients with autism; determine levels of inpatient, outpatient and pharmacy service use and costs for these patients; and compare these measures to other mental health conditions. We identified 1,747 patients with a diagnosis of autism (ICD-9 code 299.0x) between 1998 and 2001. Preliminary results show that total annual costs per patient with autism averaged $2,344 over the period. On average, 4.8% of patients had an inpatient stay during the year. Most patients received outpatient or pharmacy care (97.1% and 80.1% per year, respectively). Inpatient costs among hospitalized patients averaged $11,732 per treated patient, but varied considerably over the period. Average outpatient and pharmacy costs were more stable over time, and averaged $870 and $1,175 per treated patient per year, respectively. Pharmacy costs represented the largest component of total costs, making up 40.1% of total costs per patient on average, followed by outpatient costs (36.0% of total costs) and inpatient costs (23.9% of total costs). Costs associated with autism were generally higher than those associated with other mental health conditions.

Learning Objectives:

• 1. Describe the clinical and demographic characteristics of individuals with autism.
• 2. Evaluate the costs of providing health care services to individuals with autism in real world settings.
• 3. Assess the implications of the growing prevalence of autism on health care expenditures.

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.

Recorded presentation