Evolution of hospital spending with drug-related psychiatric hospital admissions

Objective  To analyse the trend of expenditure on drug-related psychiatric hospital admissions in Maringá, Paraná, Brazil, from 1999 to 2012.

Method  Ecological time series research with secondary data from the hospital information system of the unified health system (“SIH-SUS”). The records of admissions with a main diagnosis of drug abuse were used to calculate average expenditure. Chapter V of the ICD-10 was used to classify the most frequent diagnoses, namely abuse of alcohol, cannabis, cocaine, and psychoactive substances. The trend was expressed using a polynomial regression model.

Results  Average expenditure showed an increasing trend for cocaine and other psychoactive substances, and a decreasing trend for cannabis. Average expenditure for illicit drugs increased significantly.

Conclusion  The scarcity of economic studies on this subject calls for national studies that address expenditure with drug-related hospital admission to promote the implementation of a psychosocial, outpatient and hospital care network in accord with public healthcare expenditure.

Hospital information systems; Temporal distribution; Health expenditures; Hospitalization