The economic burden of psoriatic diseases in Taiwan

• We provide estimates of economic burden of patients with psoriasis in Taiwan.
• We present total psoriasis-related cost including direct healthcare costs, out-of-pocket payments and costs related to loss of productivity.
• Using the National Health Insurance claims data together with survey data from the face-to-face patient interviews.
• Psoriasis is associated with significant economic burdens in Taiwan.

BackgroundPsoriasis is associated with significant economic burdens. Data regarding costs for psoriasis patients in Taiwan are not available.ObjectiveTo estimate the economic burden of psoriasis in Taiwan.MethodsPsoriasis patients and their controls were identified from the 2006 National Health Insurance (NHI) research database, and differences in annual healthcare utilization and costs between psoriasis cases and controls were predicted by two-part models and generalized linear models. Face-to-face interviews were conducted in five hospital settings to collect information on out-of-pocket payments and productivity losses associated with seeking care. All analyses were stratified by the severity level of psoriasis.ResultsFrom the payer’s perspective, the NHI cost associated with moderate to severe psoriasis (sPsO) was NT$41,525 and that with mild psoriasis (mPsO) was NT$14,816. Adding the out-of-pocket payments (NT$13,095 for sPsO and NT$7237 for mPsO) and the loss of productivity (NT$6203 for sPsO and NT$2750 for mPsO), the annual total cost for sPsO was NT$60,823 and that for mPsO was NT$24,803.ConclusionPsoriasis is associated with significant economic burdens in Taiwan. Effective treatment of the disease could produce substantial savings in healthcare resources and gains in productivity.