Work loss costs due to peptic ulcer disease and gastroesophageal reflux disease in a Health Maintenance Organization

Abstract

Work loss costs for patients with PUD and GERD may be nearly as large as direct medical care costs, and are consistent with the more acute nature of PUD and the chronic pattern of GERD. The work losses resulting from these diseases are large enough to warrant consideration in guideline development and policy decisions for patients with PUD and GERD.

Cost of gastro‐oesophageal reflux disease to the employer: a perspective from the United States

“…It is important to note that the AGA's assessment of lost productivity included costs because of reduced productivity while at work, which the current study did not. Further, results were based on annualizing quarterly estimates from a California-based HMO's self-reported survey data on lost-time and salary 7 and projecting these numbers to the working age subjects in the US. 1 The present study did not require such a projection, as it was made among employees with a large geographic representation, as well as a variety of health plans represented.…”

“…Few of the prior studies present costs of absenteeism and focus on the amount of work time lost. Those that project absenteeism costs use proxies, self-reported costs, 7 median costs from the age-and gender-adjusted full-time wage and salary workers in the US population, 2 or an 'average' cost per unit of work time lost. 8,15 This study used actual payments for absences paid by the employers, and although similar to the other studies, did not quantify or report the impact of the additional staffing required to cover these absences.…”

“…2 While the typical symptoms of GERD are heartburn and regurgitation, it is also often associated with coughing, asthma, hoarseness and chest pain. [3][4][5] Given the nature of the disorder, GERD has been shown to affect quality of life and work productivity, 1,[6][7][8][9] and has also has been shown to be associated with substantial costs, both in terms of healthcare costs and costs because of productivity loss. 2,8,9 This present study aims to establish a framework for understanding the cost of GERD with main focus on the employer perspective by assessing the annual cost of illness of GERD in an employed population.…”

“…Fewer still have accounted for losses associated with reduced productivity while at work and, while the impact of GERD in employed populations has been studied in published literature, the data have primarily relied on self-report and proxy to understand productivity impacts. 7,15 Using objective data, subjects with GERD are reported to produce 4% fewer adjusted units processed per hour worked and 6% fewer units processed per year than employees without GERD (both P < 0.05). 9 Other studies with patient self-report data also describe productivity losses.…”

Economic Reflections on Proton Pump Inhibitor Therapy for Non-Erosive Reflux Disease

“…This model, like all others in the literature, addressed cost-effectiveness from a third-party payer perspective. Future models should also evaluate treatment from a societal perspective [33] as reflux symptoms are associated with significant time off work [34] and even using conservative estimates societal costs can be higher than medical costs [35]. …”