Cost Comparison of Patients with Chronic Hand Eczema Covered by Statutory vs. Occupational Health Insurances in Germany

The document presents a study that compared the cost of treating chronic hand eczema (CHE) in Germany under statutory health insurance versus occupational health insurance. A total of 223 patients with CHE refractory to potent topical treatments were included from the statutory health insurance system, and 87 patients from the occupational health insurance system. The study found that the yearly direct and indirect costs per patient were €1742 and €386 for statutory health insurance, and €3309 (€2534 according to statutory health insurance tariff) and €3422 for occupational health insurance. The higher indirect costs in the occupational health system were attributed to longer work absences in patients with work-related CHE. After controlling for treatment stage and tariff differences, no cost differences were detected between the two systems. The study concluded that the cost differences could be explained by different treatment mixes, as direct costs were similar across treatment stages, and that the higher indirect costs in the occupational health system may lead to the use of more effective and costly treatment strategies for these patients.