Cost implications for Victorian hospitals in the treatment of AIDS patients.

The number of acquired immuno-deficiency syndrome (AIDS) patients in Victoria is increasing rapidly and in the past six months the number of new patients has doubled. It can be reasonably anticipated that the number of patients with Category A and B AIDS requiring treatment will double every nine months for at least the next two years. Despite the general concern over the financial burden that the AIDS epidemic imposes on its victims, on society in general, and in particular on health-care services where patients with the disease have been concentrated, data on the medical costs of such treatment are surprisingly scarce and limited. The purpose of this paper is to point to the fact that a major problem is arising in the Victorian health system and to confirm, based on studies to-date which relate to patients treated at Fairfield Hospital, that the costs are high.