The
economic consequences of Parkinson’s disease include both direct and
indirect costs. Direct costs are incurred in managing the condition and
they include the cost of medicines and medical care (e.g. consultations,
hospital admissions, tests and investigations).
Indirect costs are those that arise as a consequence of
the condition, but are not directly related to its medical management.
In Parkinson’s these may include early retirement or loss of employment
for the person with Parkinson’s, reduced working hours for carers, and
the costs of additional home or institutionalised care.1
The direct costs of care are more easily measured than
indirect costs, so this may help explain why they are often thought to
make up a high percentage of the total economic burden. Medicines, in
particular, are often perceived to be expensive but, in Parkinson’s,
prescription medications are estimated to account for only 4.4 % of
public spending.2
Non-motor symptoms contribute significantly to the
economic impact of Parkinson’s on society. Visual hallucinations,
dementia and falls are a major source of hospitalisation and
institutionalisation – key cost-drivers in Parkinson’s care – while
gastrointestinal complications and loss of bladder control may have an
impact on continuing employment.1
As highlighted by Kartik Logishetty Chandni Chandiramani
and Ray Chaudhuri in their introduction to non-motor symptoms in
Parkinson’s (see pages 9 to 12), delayed detection of non-motor symptoms
may lead to disability, poor quality of life and an overall increase in
the cost of Parkinson’s care. Early recognition of these symptoms is
therefore essential for the effective management of Parkinson’s and
earlier access to treatment.
