Costs of female urinary incontinence

The costs of managing urinary incontinence have increased significantly over the past decades. Better quality of life expectations, better accessibility to healthcare, and increased awareness of the condition have contributed to this escalation. All financial analysis aiming to treat urinary incontinence should include the direct and indirect costs of urinary incontinence. Direct costs can be divided into diagnostic, treatment, routine care and consequence costs. Only a small proportion of the direct costs result from hospital-related treatment: the vast majority of patients with urinary incontinence remain treated within the community. The impact of indirect costs such as depression related to urinary incontinence, loss of productivity or poor performance at work is yet to be objectively quantified. At the other end of the spectrum, recent estimates by the US Census Bureau suggest that in the coming years there will be an even more significant increase in the number of consultations related to pelvic-floor disorders. This may add financial stress to a healthcare system where funding appears to be finite, and may limit the care we are able to provide to our patients. Different epidemiological models have been used to analyse cost-effectiveness of any medical intervention. Measures of the value of health outcomes, like the Quality Adjusted Life Year (QALY), are routinely incorporated into the economical analysis to facilitate financial decision-making. Economic assessment of the value of individual treatment strategies will in the future define our ability to treat and improve the quality of life of our patients.