Economic consequences of functional voice disorders and possibilities of their prevention – overview

Abstract

Voice disorders are common and can have a significant impact on quality of life and work ability. Although many voice disorders are not life threatening, they have significant societal implications. Voice disorders are particularly problematic for teachers, because of intense vocal demands. In some countries, voice disorders are recognized as an occupational disease in certain conditions. Voice disorders can also be a major burden for society and entail high costs and financial losses. There is a need for primary prevention among professions with a higher risk of developing voice disorders. For better illustration of the financial burden of voice disorders we have estimated direct medical costs for patients that were seeking help in tertiary care for functional voice disorders in the year 2017. The estimated healthcare costs (SFM) of voice disorders in year 2017 amounted to €273.249. Women caused 63.7% of healthcare costs; 51.6% of healthcare costs were attributable to outpatient healthcare, 39.3% to inpatient healthcare and the rest, 9.1%, to general practice healthcare costs. From 1 January 2017 to 31 December 2017, there were 3052 medical sessions performed at the Department of Otorhinolaryngology and Cervicofacial Surgery of the University Medical Centre Ljubljana; 12.1% of those were general ENT examinations and 51.7% phoniatric examinations. Another 21.6% were sessions in voice therapy and 14.6% sessions in psychological therapy. Our estimation of voice-disorders-related healthcare costs is only partial. For a comprehensive economic burden assessment, an estimation of the costs of drugs, indirect costs and lost productivity costs should also be taken into account. Voice has an important role in work ability. Voice disorders negatively affect work productivity and quality of life. Functional voice disorders result from behavioural misuse or overuse, so they can be prevented. In our opin-ion, prevention programs of vocal hygiene and vocal techniques, especially among professions with high vocal demands, could lower the healthcare costs.