Capturing the Financial Impact of Heparin-Induced Thrombocytopenia.

Data evaluating the financial impact of heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT) (a severe adverse drug reaction which can result in life threatening thrombosis) is lacking. The goal of this case-control study was to evaluate the financial impact of HIT. Case patients were those with a new diagnosis of HIT from April 2003 to March 2004 for whom matched controls were available. Controls for each case patient were matched for the DRG under which the hospital was reimbursed, the patient’s primary diagnosis code and their primary procedure code. Case patients required identification of >1 control for inclusion. The hospital’s financial database was queried for length of stay (LOS), total cost, and reimbursement. For each case patient, the cost and reimbursement were compared to the cost and reimbursement for each group of matched controls. In an effort to eliminate the impact of variable reimbursement, a subset of only Medicare case and control patients was also evaluated. Of 72 new HIT patients, matched controls were identified for 31. The mean LOS for the case and control patients was 22.8 and 11.6 days respectively (p=0.006). The mean hospital cost of case and control patients was $55,440 and $26,505 respectively. From reimbursement minus cost calculations, our institution lost an average of $13,429 per HIT patient compared to an average of $393 per control patient (p=0.005). The mean LOS for Medicare cases (n=21) and matched Medicare controls was 26 and 14.6 days respectively (p=0.041). The mean hospital cost of Medicare case and control patients was $58,842 and $30,210 respectively. From reimbursement minus cost calculations for the Medicare subset, our institution lost an average of $20,229 per HIT case compared to $1844 per control patient (p<0.0001). Assuming 72 new cases of HIT per year, our institution incurs a projected annual financial loss of $980,000 from HIT. The use of alternate anticoagulants, although having a higher acquisition cost, may offset this loss through HIT avoidance.