Pharmacy Daily | Preventable hospitalisations cost $7.7b

THE Australian Institute for Health and Welfare (AIHW) has released new data on the cost of potentially preventable hospitalisations (PPH) in Australia, revealing that there were about 788,000 PPH in 2023-24 costing $7.7 billion and accounting for more than 3 million hospital bed days across Australia.

PPH refers to admissions for conditions that could potentially be avoided through timely and effective primary care, early disease management or public health interventions.

Much of the spending related to potentially preventable conditions within the remit of pharmacists' expanded scope of practice.

The highest PPH spending in 2023--24 was for chronic conditions, at 45% of all PPH costs, with diabetes complications the leading chronic condition at a cost of $962 million, followed by congestive cardiac failure ($861m) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD, $797m).

Acute conditions made up 38% of all PPH costs in 2023-24, with the largest contributor being urinary tract infections at a cost of $695 million, while pneumonia and influenza represented more than 60% of vaccine-preventable costs.

"This report tracked hospital expenditure from 2014-15 to 2023-24 and shows most people were hospitalised for chronic conditions that could be prevented," Public Health Association of Australia CEO, Adj Prof Terry Slevin, said.

"Properly resourcing prevention programs mean less pressure on our stretched emergency departments and ambulance services, so less hospital ramping.

"The fewer people who get sick, the less it costs us as a society, and if we do get sick, avoiding repeat hospitalisations also saves money."

Prof Slevin reiterated the importance of prevention, and the Association's hope that the Australian Centre for Disease Control will act on chronic disease.

"For decades, all Australian and state/territory governments have prioritised spending on acute care instead of keeping people out of hospitals," he said.

Meanwhile, the Australian Medical Association (AMA) is calling for immediate action to combat vaccine hesitancy and reverse declining immunisation rates across the country in the wake of its new report - From coverage to concern: a policy analysis of Australia's immunisation decline.

AMA President Dr Danielle McMullen said declining vaccination rates had far-reaching consequences, with preventable diseases re-emerging, driving up hospital admissions and stretching emergency departments.

"Our hospitals are already in logjam, operating at or above capacity, and yet nearly 10% of preventable admissions are linked to vaccine-preventable illnesses," Dr McMullen said, referring to the AIHW report on preventable hospitalisations.

"We must act now to strengthen public health initiatives and lift vaccine coverage across all age groups, because vaccines aren't just about stopping a sniffle - they are about saving lives," she stated.

The report highlighted the role of misinformation and anti-science sentiment in eroding public trust in vaccination, with vaccine fatigue and competing demands on time also contributing to declining rates.