Aim of the research:
Analysis of prevalence of multiple sclerosis (MS) and direct healthcare costs of patients with MS in Poland between 2008 and 2016.

Material and methods:
Retrospective analysis of data on healthcare services related to the treatment of patients with MS covered by National Health Fund (NHF) in 2008-2016. The Number of patients with MS, utilization of resources, and direct medical cost were analyzed for each year in 9-year time horizon. Costs were calculated from public payer perspective and reported in EuroPPP (adjusted for purchasing power parity).

Results:
According to data from the NHF, the prevalence of MS in Poland was 103,06 and 113,06 per 100,000 population in 2008 and 2016, respectively. The annual growth rate of spending’s on MS (+14%) was higher than the growth rate of patients (+1.3%). In the years 2008-2016, the average expenditure per patient increased from 2,800 to 6,900 EuroPPP. The largest group of patients was treated the out-patient setting (36% specialized, 29.3% primary care); however, 84% of funds were spent on hospital care. The main drivers for hospital costs were therapeutic/drug programs, which increased from 59 million in 2008 to 233 million EuroPPP in 2016. Currently, 25% of the MS population has access to publicly funded drug programs.

Conclusions:
The situation of patients with MS in Poland is systematically improving. Over the past 9 years, both the public payer’s expenditure on treatment of MS patients and the number of patients participating in drug programs funded by NHF have tripled.