BACKGROUND: Injuries are common causes of hospital visits and deaths in the Philippines. The national healthcare-associated expenses due to these injuries have not been established.

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the healthcare-associated expenses due to injuries in the Philippines. Methods. Review of patient charts and patient interviews were conducted in 21 hospitals in the Philippines. A convenience sample of patients was interviewed to ascertain other direct medical and non-medical expenses.

RESULTS: Median admission costs based on hospital bills were: road injuries: PhP10,192.25, poisoning: PhP4,402.00, burns: PhP6,521.53, animal-related: PhP5,105.92, other accidents: PhP7,545.71 and intentional injuries: PhP8,023.00. Based on survey, other expenses not stated in hospital bills include medical supplies (PhP4,000.00), diagnostic tests (PhP 2,000.00), and post-discharge expenses (PhP 1,000.00).

CONCLUSION: Expenses due to injuries varied according to cause. Admission expenses recorded in the bill were not the only healthcare-related expenses shouldered by the patient and accounted for 68.6-159.0% of the bill value.