A Swedish study reports that had 600,000 COPD patients received their diagnoses two years earlier, it could have translated into a savings of $1.7 billion (15 billion Swedish Krona) in direct healthcare costs during the first two years after diagnosis.

The new findings … indicate that, over a two-year period, early COPD diagnosis could save the public purse approximately $2,800 (SEK 25,000) per patient in direct healthcare costs compared with late COPD diagnosis.

Other findings from the study included:

  • People diagnosed with COPD cost healthcare services five times as much as the control group who did not have COPD.
  • People diagnosed with COPD had incomes half as high as those of the control group who did not have COPD.
  • COPD patients diagnosed early have a 60% lower risk of the disease worsening
  • Women with COPD are diagnosed later than men with COPD.

Read more at www.medicalxpress.com