SINGAPORE: A study led by Duke-NUS Medical School and the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) has revealed the staggering economic toll that chronic wounds cause on Singapore’s healthcare system.
According to the first-ever local study to quantify the national cost of chronic wounds, these conditions cost Singapore an estimated SGD$350 million annually, constituting approximately 0.07 per cent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
Chronic wounds, defined as those that persist for more than four weeks, often afflict seniors already grappling with other health issues. These wounds include diabetic ulcers and pressure ulcers, commonly known as bedsores. The study, published in the open-access journal BMJ Open, deems chronic wounds a “silent epidemic” affecting a significant portion of the global population.
The study highlighted the significant costs stemming from hospital admissions and productivity losses due to deteriorating health and quality of life. To arrive at the SGD$350 million figure, the research team, consisting of scientists and clinicians from eight institutions in Singapore, analyzed health data from 16,752 admissions to private and public acute hospitals in 2017.
The study factored in various costs, including hospital bed occupancy, outpatient visits, polyclinic visits, and Emergency Department visits. Additionally, it considered the monetary value of the decline in patients’ quality of life, pegged against Singapore’s mean Gross Domestic Product per capita.
The research team also drew data from the Singapore Wound Registry (WR), an initiative established by the Skin Research Institute of Singapore (SRIS) in collaboration with major hospitals. The WR serves as a platform for assessing the national wound burden, tracking costs, and evaluating the impact on quality of life.
Study lead Professor Nicholas Graves, Deputy Director of the Health Services & Systems Research Programme at Duke-NUS, emphasized the potential for reducing costs by implementing preventive measures and specialized wound care programs, such as home-based screening and wound care clinics.
Praising the collaborative effort, Professor Rachel Watson, Executive Director at A*SRL and SRIS, emphasises the importance of synergy between researchers and clinicians. She highlighted the Wound Registry’s role in enhancing innovation and research to improve chronic wound management in Singapore.
Dr Priya Bishnoi, Senior Scientist at A*SRL and SRIS, revealed A*STAR’s ongoing initiative to develop a data-driven digital platform. The platform aims to streamline wound assessment, provide risk stratification, engage patients, and facilitate care coordination, ultimately reducing manpower and costs.
Duke-NUS’ Senior Vice-Dean for Research, Professor Patrick Tan, hailed the multidisciplinary approach, providing a national snapshot of the economic burden of chronic wounds. He stressed the significance of these insights in identifying effective interventions to alleviate the burden on the healthcare system and improve patient’s quality of life.