Cost effectiveness of integrated medicine in patients with cancer receiving anticancer chemotherapy

Ambulatory chemotherapy is patient friendly but may result in toxicity-induced unscheduled hospitalizations (TIUHs). This emerging issue may increase health care costs. We studied the cost effectiveness of a hospital-home monitoring program based on systematic iterative telephone calls after chemotherapy.

We retrospectively evaluated the rates of chemotherapy-induced unscheduled hospitalizations in patients who were treated in August 2008. Patients were contacted by telephone 1 day before chemotherapy and on the second and eighth days after undergoing chemotherapy. Costs associated with TIUHs were calculated and compared with those of a cohort concomitantly treated using the standard follow-up procedure.

A total of 259 patients entered the hospital-home monitoring program. They were compared with 86 patients who had similar characteristics but underwent the standard treatment and follow-up procedure. Inclusion in the hospital-home monitoring program resulted in patients experiencing TIUHs approximately half as frequently as patients in the other group (2.4% v 4.9%; P < .01). Patients in the program experienced TIUHs for a median length of stay of 4 days, representing a nonsignificant reduction in duration of hospitalization (P not significant). Consequently, through a two-fold reduction in TIUH annual incidence, this program represents a reduction in unscheduled hospitalizations per year of 383 days, decreasing hospital costs by €201.468 ($292,468) per year.

The hospital-home monitoring program is a cost-effective strategy for offering ambulatory chemotherapy treatment to patients with cancer. This program has become our standard procedure for ambulatory chemotherapy in patients with cancer.