Chronic hepatitis C is expensive for Ontario patients and caregivers

Ontarians with chronic hepatitis C can lose up to 20 per cent of their overall income managing their condition. Ontarians with chronic hepatitis C can lose up to 20 per cent of their overall income managing their condition, a new study has found. Using survey results from 275 patients, the study analyzed the financial burden of chronic hepatitis C (CHC) on patients treated in hospital and community clinics. The research team determined that patients treated in hospital hepatitis clinics spent up to five times more out-of-pocket on supporting their CHC needs than those treated in community hepatitis clinics. "Understanding the true economic cost of chronic hepatitis C helps inform policy decision-making," said William W.L. Wong, professor at the School of Pharmacy and lead author on the study. "Though previous research existed to show the direct medical costs of managing CHC patients in the health-care system, Ontario research was lacking on the cost to individual patients and caregivers." Wong and his coauthors addressed this gap by examining both the out-of-pocket costs to patients and the productivity-related costs of missing work for patients and caregivers due to CHC. The team found that the hospital-treated patients group lost an average of $743 in time over a three-month period and the community clinic-treated patients group lost an average of $465.