Abstracts

Rationale: The World Health Organization has identified inadequate access to high level treatment of epilepsy as a major problem. Many of the barriers to care are economic, but they are seldom compared to the economic benefits of optimal care. We examined the projected economic impact of establishing a new center in an underserved region.Methods: Statistics from the Epilepsy Foundation of America (EFA) regarding the cost of epilepsy nationally, the CDC on prevalence of epilepsy in Georgia, and the US Census data on the population of central Georgia were applied to the 7 county region defined by a central Georgia hospital as its primary service area. From these figures an estimate of the economic impact of epilepsy on the central Georgia area was calculated. Further data from published series regarding the effect of optimal quaternary services on seizure control were then applied to these figures for an estimate of savings. Results: Based on CDC estimates of a1% prevalence in Georgia, and US Census data of the estimated 2005 population, the primary service area of the hospital should contain roughly 7,481 epileptic patients. The estimate of $4,629/year/patient, lead to an estimated total cost of 34.6 million dollars per year for the region in epilepsy care. Conservative estimates predict at least a 40% reduction in direct costs with optimal care, leading to an annual savings of nearly 14 million dollars.Conclusions: This analysis demonstrates that the economic impact on direct costs of optimal treatment of epilepsy patients is substantial, at least 14 million dollars per year in the defined 7 county region. Indirect costs will need to be addressed in future models, as will issues of who benefits from such savings compared to who bears the increased cost of the treatment.