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Economic burden of hepatitis C in Canada and the potential impact of prevention

Results from a disease model

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Abstract

This Canadian hepatitis C model estimates economic burden of disease using Markov modeling to predict progression over 11 health states annually from 2001 to 2040. Incidence-based estimates help demonstrate the capability to determine cost-effectiveness of programs to prevent different proportions of incident cases. Benefits of prevention increase linearly with the number of incident cases prevented. The model forecasts annual health care costs for the treatment of HCV-related disease ranging from $103 to $158 million over time. Health care costs attributable to 2001 incidence cohort are forecast at $14.6 million for prevention. The increasing cost of HCV provides a framework for further analysis and implementation of long-term policies aimed at appropriate allocation of resources for health in Canada.

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Acknowledgements

For editorial assistance, the authors wish to acknowledge Natalie Hanna, BA, Communication Officer of the Statistics and Risk Assessment Section, Blood Safety Surveillance and Health Care Acquired Infections Division. Centre for Infectious Disease Prevention and Control, Public Health Agency of Canada

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Correspondence to Susie El Saadany.

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El Saadany, S., Coyle, D., Giulivi, A. et al. Economic burden of hepatitis C in Canada and the potential impact of prevention. Eur J Health Econ 6, 159–165 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10198-004-0273-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10198-004-0273-y

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