Health economics in HIV disease.

All illnesses and, by association, all provision of health care in any setting have a cost, whether it is the direct cost to the consumer, to the provider (for example, a national health service) or the indirect cost to an employer or to society in lost production. Disease also has hidden or intangible costs of pain, suffering, and distress for the people affected and for their surrounding support structure such as family and friends. The ability to provide what is currently perceived as the treatment standard of care, in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) disease, is stretching many health care budgets globally, yet few studies of health economics have been conducted in this area. Such studies are needed and increasingly will become a vital resource regarding health care costs and utilization for optimal provision of health care in HIV disease.