Hospitalization Cost Offset of a Hostility Intervention for Coronary Heart Disease Patients

• Published in: Journal of consulting and clinical psychology Vol. 75; no. 4; pp. 657 - 662
• Main Authors: Davidson, Karina W, Gidron, Yori, Mostofsky, Elizabeth, Trudeau, Kimberlee J
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States American Psychological Association 01.08.2007
• Subjects: Adult; Cognitive Behavioral Therapy - economics; Coronary Disease - economics; Coronary Disease - psychology; Coronary Disease - therapy; Costs; Costs and Cost Analysis; Debt (Financial); Diseases; Female; Group Therapy; Heart Disorders; Hospitalization - economics; Hospitals; Hostility; Humans; Intervention; Male; Males; Patients; Psychological Patterns; Psychotherapy, Group - economics
• ISSN: 0022-006X
• DOI: 10.1037/0022-006x.75.4.657

The authors evaluated hospitalization cost offset of hostility management group therapy for patients with coronary heart disease (CHD) from a previously published randomized controlled trial (Y. Gidron, K. Davidson, & I. Bata, 1999). Twenty-six male patients with myocardial infarction or unstable angina were randomized to either 2 months of cognitive-behavioral group therapy or an information (control) session. Therapy patients had a shorter average length of hospital stay (n = 13, M = 0.38 days, SD = 0.96) than did control patients (n = 13, M = 2.15 days, SD = 2.6), t(15.2) = -2.29, p = 0.04, over 6 months following therapy. The average hospitalization costs were significantly lower for therapy patients (M = $245, SD = $627) than for control patients (M = $1,333, SD = $1,609), t(15.6) = -2.27, p = 0.04. The cost-offset ratio is calculated by dividing the $1,088 of hospitalization savings by the $560 of therapy expense ($1.00:$1.94), indicating that for every $1.00 spent on therapy, there is an approximate savings of $2.00 in hospitalization costs in the following 6 months. These findings support the hospitalization cost offset of hostility-reduction in CHD patients.