Cost of COVID-19 hospital stays far exceeds other illnesses: study
If you end up in the hospital with COVID-19 in Canada, it’s going to cost the health-care system much more than most other illnesses, according to a study released Thursday by the Canadian Institute for Health Information.
The study found that the average cost of a COVID-19 patient’s hospital stay is $23,000.
That’s three times the amount that it costs for a hospital stay for a heart attack; four times the cost for a patient hospitalized with the flu; and nearly as much as a hospital stay for a kidney transplant.
Ann Chapman of the Canadian Institute for Health Information says the reason COVID-19 patients cost so much more is because of how long they need to spend in hospital.
According to the report, patients with COVID-19 stayed in hospital an average of 15 days, which is twice as long as patients with pneumonia.
“So what that tells you is if a patient presents in hospital with COVID, they're very sick,” said Chapman on Thursday. “They’re sicker than if they had pneumonia or influenza.”
The study also found that the total cost of COVID-19 hospitalizations across Canada (excluding Quebec) between January 2020 and March 2021 was approximately $1 billion.
Dr. Brian Conway, the head of Vancouver’s Infectious Disease Centre, calls the study “truly astounding.”
“If you compare this to the total cost that’s spent in hospitals over the course of a year, COVID itself has added about two per cent, as a single disease identity, to the total cost spent,” said Conway.
Chapman said the $23,000 is just the average for COVID-19 hospital stays, while the average cost for patients ending up in intensive care is more than $50,000.
“On average they're there for three weeks,” said Chapman of intensive-care patients.
The estimated costs don’t factor in doctor salaries, but the bulk of the expense is attributed to paying other hospital staff, says Chapman.
“That cost of those human resources providing care to people in hospital, that is the biggest cost.”
There are other less tangible, but equally real, costs to the health-care system caused by COVID-19, including non-urgent surgeries that continue to be postponed across B.C.
“It has consequences for everybody else who needs care, and it of course has consequences for you and your family and those who love you and care for you,” said B.C. Health Minister Adrian Dix on Thursday.
As of Thursday, there were 130 patients in intensive care in B.C., only nine of whom were fully vaccinated.
“This just adds to the long list of reasons why you should be vaccinated,” Conway added.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Several flight attendants from Pakistan have gone missing after landing in Canada
Multiple flight attendants from Pakistan International Airlines have abandoned their jobs and are believed to have sought asylum in Canada in the past year and a half, a spokesperson for the government-owned airline says.
BREAKING Ottawa public school board, 3 Toronto-area school boards launch lawsuit against social media giants
The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board and three school boards in the Toronto-area have launched legal action against social media giants, accusing them of "disrupting students' fundamental right to education."
Doctors visiting a Gaza hospital are stunned by the war's toll on Palestinian children
An international team of doctors visiting a hospital in central Gaza was prepared for the worst. But the gruesome impact Israel’s war against Hamas is having on Palestinian children still left them stunned.
Crypt near Marilyn Monroe and Hugh Hefner could fetch US$400,000 at auction
A one-space mausoleum crypt in the vicinity of Marilyn Monroe and Hugh Hefner will go on auction Saturday, when it is expected to reach between US$200,000 and $400,000.
Tipping is off the table at this Toronto restaurant
A Toronto restaurant introduced a surprising new rule that reduced the cost of a meal and raised the salaries of staff.
A fight to protect the dignity of Michelangelo's David raises questions about freedom of expression
Michelangelo's David has been a towering figure in Italian culture since its completion in 1504. But in the current era of the quick buck, curators worry the marble statue's religious and political significance is being diminished.
A Nigerian woman reviewed some tomato puree online. Now she faces jail
A Nigerian woman who wrote an online review of a can of tomato puree is facing imprisonment after its manufacturer accused her of making a “malicious allegation” that damaged its business.
Premiers not being truthful about carbon tax, Trudeau says while sparks fly in Ottawa
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Conservative premiers across the country are 'not telling the truth' when it comes to the carbon tax. Trudeau's comments came as fresh sparks were flying in Ottawa at a recalled House of Commons committee.
Far North police 'dispatch' polar bear stalking schoolyard
Police and local hunters in an Ontario Far North First Nation community have “dispatched” a polar that was showing abnormal behaviour and treating the area as a hunting ground.