UNAIR NEWS – Diabetes Mellitus (DM) Type 2 is a chronic disease that many people suffer from. Treatment for DM patients requires long-term medical care which will incur considerable medical expenses. Then, how is Type 2 DM patients’ medical expenses regulated by the Health Care and Social Security Agency (BPJS Kesehatan)?
BPJS Kesehatan exists to provide health insurance to the public, including for Type 2 DM patients. It has attracted the interest of a joint research team of pharmacy lecturers Universitas Airlangga and Muhammadiyah University of Malang to conduct research. They are Aniza Oktaviana, Liza Pristianty, and Ika Ratna Hidayati.
Liza Pristanty, researcher and lecturer at the Faculty of Pharmacy UNAIR, explained that the treatment of DM 2 can be done in two ways. The first is through pharmacological treatment using oral antidiabetic drugs and insulin.
“Then you can also use non-pharmacological treatments that involve lifestyle changes,” she explained on Sunday, June 5, 2022.
She continued that funding for the treatment of Type 2 DM can be analyzed using the cost of illness method. The method uses an approach to identify and evaluate the cost of a patient’s illness.
The research team conducted a study on the medical expenses of outpatient treatment for Type 2 DM patients BPJS participants at the Mulyorejo Public Health Center Malang. Researchers conducted structured interviews with 58 patients using purposive sampling technique.
“Costs arising from DM treatment are direct costs which consist of direct medical costs and direct non-medical costs. In addition, there are also indirect costs,” she explained.
The team’s research results showed that the treatment costs for Type 2 DM patients consisted of direct medical costs of Rp. 173,560.00 – Rp. 1,266,240.00, direct non-medical costs of Rp. 0.00 – Rp. 240,000.00. Meanwhile, indirect costs are Rp. 0.00 – Rp. 1,200,000.00.
“Thus, the medical expenses for Type 2 DM patients for one year are in Rp. 173,560 to Rp. 6,090,240,” she added.
The UNAIR Faculty of Pharmacy lecturer said that the range of expenses is affected by two things: the frequency of patient visits and patient compliance in carrying out therapy.
“If the patient is obedient in carrying out therapy, then the patient can reduce the incurred costs,” she said. (*)
Author: Sandi Prabowo
Editor : Binti Q Masruroh
