While much is known about health care use associated with individual chronic conditions, less is known about utilization associated with multiple chronic conditions (MCC). From a health services perspective, understanding common patterns of MCC and the effect on health services use and related costs is critical to program planning. This retrospective cohort study aimed to understand the patterns of health service use and costs of dementia, diabetes and stroke within the context of MCC among adults over age 65.
This project resulted in comprehensive population-based statistics on a) the burden and type of co-morbidity among the three primary diagnostic groups; b) factors associated with MCC and health service use and costs; and c) estimates of the effect of these conditions on the costs of use of health services. These statistics are useful for practice and policy decision-makers as they plan community-based primary health-care programs and decide where to allocate resources.