Early health economic evaluation of the future potential of next generation artificial vision systems for treating blindness in Germany

Economic evaluations in fracture research an introduction with examples of foot fractures

INTRODUCTION

The incidence of foot fractures is increasing. These types of fractures represent the most expensive group of diagnoses in the emergency department. Next to this, the need for economic evaluation studies is growing fast. The aim of this article is to provide healthcare professionals with an introduction to economic evaluation studies in the field of foot fractures.

TYPES OF ECONOMIC EVALUATION STUDIES

Four types of economic evaluation studies exist: cost-minimization analysis (CMA), cost-benefit analysis (CBA), cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA), and cost-utility analysis (CUA). An economic evaluation study can be either trial- or model-based.

COST ASSESSMENT

When assessing costs in an economic evaluation study, three steps need to be made: identification of costs, measurement of costs, and valuation of costs.

PERSPECTIVE OF ANALYSIS

Two main perspectives exist in economic evaluation studies. When using a healthcare perspective, only the potential costs and benefits of an intervention for the healthcare sector are included. The societal perspective includes all potential costs, including societal costs.

SYNTHESIS OF COSTS AND EFFECTS AND UNCERTAINTY ANALYSIS

The level of cost-effectiveness can be objectively expressed using the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER). This measure can be plotted in a cost-effectiveness plane and can be compared with existing regional ceiling ratios.

CONCLUSION

Although this article is not a guideline for economic evaluations, we do want to present five tips to consider when performing an economic evaluation. Firstly, when measuring resource use, consult the Database of Instruments for Resource Use Measurements (DIRUM) to find an appropriate instrument. Secondly, when measuring utility values, use the EuroQol questionnaire if possible. Thirdly, when setting up an economic evaluation study, consult the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR) database for the appropriate pharmacoeconomic guidelines. Fourthly, consult international guidelines to decide which study design is most appropriate. Finally, when performing an economic evaluation, consult a heath technology assessment (HTA) specialist from the start to ensure methodological quality.

Economic burden of blindness and visual impairment in Germany from a societal perspective: a cost-of-illness study

BACKGROUND

Visual impairment and blindness cause a considerable and increasing economic burden affecting not only persons with vision loss and their families, but also societies. For the majority of countries, there is no solid database that would allow a comprehensive assessment of costs from a societal perspective. The present study was conducted to fill this gap.

OBJECTIVES

To investigate resource utilization of blind or visually impaired people and to assess the economic burden of blindness and visual impairment in Germany.

METHODS

This cross-sectional cost-of-illness study measures the economic burden of blindness and visual impairment bottom-up and from a societal perspective. Therefore, blind and visually impaired persons were recruited via national self-help organizations (prevalence-based approach) and interviewed regarding their utilized resources using various survey modes (mixed-mode approach). The observation period was 6 months retrospectively. Utilized resources were valued applying standardized unit costs (macro-costing). Calculations for the study population provided direct and indirect costs per person for a period of 6 months. Further cost per category was extrapolated to 1 year for the general population of Germany. Uncertainty of results was addressed applying univariate deterministic sensitivity analyses.

RESULTS

Complete data were collected from 683 participants (54.84% women; average age: 60.28 ± 17.02 years). Decreasing vision was associated with increasing costs (p < 0.001). Most costs were incurred by informal support from relatives, which was the most important resource for coping with everyday life for people with visual loss. Together with assistive/medical devices and loss of productivity due to disability, informal support accounted for 80% of total costs. Extrapolated to Germany, the annual costs of blindness and visual impairment from a societal perspective amounted to € 49.6 billion. Results of the sensitivity analyses and 95% confidence intervals showed a considerable degree of uncertainty.

CONCLUSION

Visual impairment and blindness may cause enormous overall costs from a societal point of view, as shown here for Germany. Our findings on the costs of blindness and visual impairment in Germany add in a number of different ways to the international evidence. In particular, results show that a large proportion of the costs are not obvious per se as it is caused by self-paid deductibles, productivity loss, early retirement and informal support/care by relatives. Further research should make special efforts to investigate these costs precisely as well as their influence factors.

Delivering Diabetes Education through Nurse-Led Telecoaching. Cost-Effectiveness Analysis

BACKGROUND

People with diabetes have a high risk of developing micro- and macrovascular complications associated with diminished life expectancy and elevated treatment costs. Patient education programs can improve diabetes control in the short term, but their cost-effectiveness is uncertain. Our study aimed to analyze the lifelong cost-effectiveness of a nurse-led telecoaching program compared to usual care in people with type 2 diabetes from the perspective of the Belgian healthcare system.

METHODS

The UKPDS Outcomes Model was populated with patient-level data from an 18-month randomized clinical trial in the Belgian primary care sector involving 574 participants; trial data were extrapolated to 40 years; Quality Adjusted Life Years (QALYs), treatment costs and Incremental Cost-Effectiveness Ratio (ICER) were calculated for the entire cohort and the subgroup with poor glycemic control at baseline ("elevated HbA1c subgroup") and the associated uncertainty was explored.

RESULTS

The cumulative mean QALY (95% CI) gain was 0.21 (0.13; 0.28) overall and 0.56 (0.43; 0.68) in elevated HbA1c subgroup; the respective incremental costs were €1,147 (188; 2,107) and €2,565 (654; 4,474) and the respective ICERs €5,569 (€677; €15,679) and €4,615 (1,207; 9,969) per QALY. In the scenario analysis, repeating the intervention for lifetime had the greatest impact on the cost-effectiveness and resulted in the mean ICERs of €13,034 in the entire cohort and €7,858 in the elevated HbA1c subgroup.

CONCLUSION

Taking into account reimbursement thresholds applied in West-European countries, nurse-led telecoaching of people with type 2 diabetes may be considered highly cost-effective within the Belgian healthcare system.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

NCT01612520.