The cost of cardiac rehabilitation services in England and Wales

A random sample of 25 cardiac rehabilitation programmes in England and Wales was surveyed by questionnaire. Using workload and resource data returned, costs were calculated per centre, per patient and per session. Sixteen (64%) of the centres returned full details. Annual staffing costs per cardiac rehabilitation centre were in the range £10,000 to £62,000, with a mean of just under £33,000 (median £32,000). Mean cost per patient completing the rehabilitation programme was £370 (median £223), and mean cost per patient per session was £47 (median £26). There was substantial intercentre variation in costs. Cost per patient was closely related to patient throughput and hours of contact time. The costs of rehabilitation programmes in this survey exceed earlier estimates. To assess the implications for the cost-effectiveness of such programmes, reliable data on the effectiveness of such programmes are now required.