Health care resource utilization in the Johns Hopkins HIV clinic cohort

The introduction of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) has been shown to decrease mortality rates and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-associated morbidity. In this review of resource utilization among HIV-infected persons over a 5-year period, we report decreased utilization of hospital services associated with decreased morbidity. Our analyses show that this trend in decreased hospital costs correlates with increased utilization of HAART. During the same period, a corresponding increase in outpatient and pharmacy costs is reported, again reflecting administration of HAART in the outpatient setting. We believe these results have important consequences for planning of health care utilization for those who provide care for HIV-infected persons. The use of HAART in our clinic has resulted in better clinical and economic outcomes.