Costs of Rheumatoid Arthritis in a Balkan Country (Serbia)

• Published in: East European politics and societies Vol. 23; no. 1; pp. 135 - 138
• Main Authors: Jankovic, Slobodan, Kostic, Marina, Radosavljevic, Marija, Jovanovic, Snezana
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications Ltd 2009; SAGE Publications; Sage Publications Ltd
• Subjects: Baltic States; Costs; Governance; Health and medicine and law; Health care expenditures; Health care policy; Health Care Services; Health services; Human Body; Illness; Public health; Rheumatoid arthritis; Serbia; Socio-Economic Research; Welfare systems; Serbia; treatment costs; Serbia; economic aspects of rheumatoid arthritis; Balkans; health care
• ISSN: 0888-3254; 1533-8371
• DOI: 10.1177/0888325408327848

The economic aspects of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in Balkan countries were not studied. The majority of Balkan countries (Serbia, Montenegro, Bulgaria, and Romania) have made rapid socio-economic transitions during the last decade from planned economies of the socialistic type to liberal, market-driven economies, resulting in their shift from lower- to higher-middle-income countries (2007 gross national income per capita shifted from $3,706 to $11,455). These countries also have similar annual health budgets per capita (Bulgaria: $272, Serbia: $212, Montenegro: $212, and Romania: $250). While drug and medical device costs in Balkan countries are similar to costs in developed European countries, costs of health care services are much lower. This creates a different economic environment in health care and could produce significant differences in the cost of the same medical procedure or drug in high-income European countries and higher-middle-income Balkan countries. [...]