BCN HEALTH has published 11 studies in 2025 and 2026 evaluating the incidence, productivity loss, and disease costs in Spain and Europe
These studies have provided new, robust data to assist decision-makers in resource allocation and have offered deep insights into the disease burden on the Spanish National Health System and the European healthcare landscape, identifying the main cost drivers.
BCN HEALTH has published 11 studies between 2025 and early 2026 that assess the incidence, clinical burden, productivity loss, and cost of disease for various conditions. These studies have been published in prestigious peer-reviewed international journals, including Pharmacoeconomics, Health Policy, The European Journal of Health Economics, BMJ Open, JHEP Reports, and Journal of Medical Economics.
BCN HEALTH conducted retrospective and population-based studies based on records of patients diagnosed with different diseases. The main objective was to evaluate the clinical burden and the associated economic impact at both the hospital and societal levels. For studies focused on Spain, data were extracted from the Spanish Ministry of Health’s records and the Spanish National Institute of Statistics (INE), covering longitudinal periods such as 2011–2022 or 2013–2022.
The variables analyzed in these clinical records included patients' sex and age, admission and discharge details, readmission rates, secondary diagnoses, and the imputed costs of hospitalization. Additionally, BCN HEALTH explored innovative areas such as the clinical validation of artificial intelligence-based decision support systems for heart failure.
Other studies analyzed costs due to productivity losses associated with premature mortality. This analysis was based on the human capital approach, which estimates the indirect costs that disease imposes on society by calculating the income and productivity lost due to premature death. These costs were estimated using age- and sex-specific annual wages from the age of death until the legal retirement age.
Some of the diseases and conditions evaluated included:
- Oncology: Prostate cancer, pancreatic cancer, brain cancer, liver cancer, and leukaemia.
- Cardiovascular Health: Acute myocardial infarction and heart failure (including a systematic review of costs in Europe).
- Hepatology: Cirrhosis, hepatocellular carcinoma, and Hepatitis Delta (HDV).
These studies have provided new, robust data to assist decision-makers in resource allocation and have offered deep insights into the disease burden on the Spanish National Health System and the European healthcare landscape, identifying the main cost drivers.
More information can be found at:
- Pancreatic Cancer: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.healthpol.2026.105564
- Acute Myocardial Infarction: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10198-025-01881-5
- Hepatitis Delta (HDV): https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhepr.2025.101471
- Brain Cancer: https://doi.org/10.1080/03007995.2025.2538755
- Liver Cancer: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2024-093054
- Leukaemia: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10198-024-01727-6