Evaluation of In-Hospital and Community-Based Healthcare Utilization and Costs During the Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) Pandemic in Alberta, Canada: A Population-Based Descriptive Study.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Assessing the financial burden of COVID-19 is important for planning health services and resource allocation to inform future pandemic response.

Objectives

This study examines the changing dynamics in healthcare utilization patterns and costs from a public healthcare perspective during the COVID-19 pandemic in Alberta, Canada.

Design

Population-based descriptive study.

Methods

All adult patients over the age of 18 years who had a laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis in Alberta, Canada from March 1, 2020 to December 15, 2021. We described demographic information and community- and hospital-based healthcare utilization and costs. We compared changes in each outcome throughout the first four waves of the pandemic.

Results

Among 255,037 patient

SUBMITTER: Liu K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11639006 | biostudies-literature | 2024

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature