HIV in a new era - new report on changing care needs, costs and co-morbidities

Today, May 28, Hiv-Sweden publishes the report "HIV in a new era". The report is released in connection with the webinar "Are we ready? Comorbidities, health economics and the future needs of people living with HIV" and aims to highlight aspects of the changing care needs of people living with HIV and the new cost structure that is taking shape as a result.

The report's foreword reads:

"Healthcare is a high priority issue in Sweden. Accessibility, waiting times and costs are aspects that often appear in the debate about the health care system. For people living with HIV, well-functioning care is a prerequisite for good health and a good life. At the same time, several trends can be discerned in the 40-year history of HIV, from palliative care to the current designation of HIV as a chronic, treatable disease. With the changing care needs of people living with HIV, we are in the midst of an ongoing paradigm shift with demands to adapt care and resource allocation. Of the principles of the Health Care Act (1982:763), debates and discussions on HIV care include arguments that lean towards the principle of human dignity as well as the principles of need and solidarity. There is now a relatively rich body of material describing the consequences of an HIV diagnosis for the individual. The authorities as well as academia and civil society have published reports on the life situation of people living with HIV, and the needs and challenges that patients face with their diagnosis. However, the principle of cost-effectiveness seems to be rarely touched upon. To avoid co-morbidity, increasing costs and improving the quality of life of people living with HIV, cost-effectiveness should be given more attention.

A reasonable question is whether we in civil society should highlight cost-effectiveness ourselves. Is it to be true to our target groups and our function in relation to other actors?

We lean towards a yes, by highlighting challenges and which interventions have an effect, we can point out what makes a difference and contributes to better health and quality of life. The fact that healthcare costs and must cost is reasonable given our economic prosperity, but we need to ask ourselves whether resources for the interventions that exist today can be used in other ways. Ultimately, this is what also affects the health and quality of life of people living with HIV.

This report therefore aims to answer these questions:

What is the cost of co-morbidity in people living with HIV? How can we better prevent, detect and treat co-morbidities?

The report is based on a literature review of studies in the area of health care costs for people living with HIV, with a focus on Sweden and Denmark. The choice of Nordic countries is based on the design of health systems, HIV prevalence, demographic composition and health of the population, and available published research. Some references are also made to research from other countries."

Download the report here