Pilot evaluation of the management of chronic oedema in community settings project

The aim of this economic analysis was to estimate the economic impact of the On the Ground Education Programme (OGEP) within one local University Health Board (UHB) in Wales.

The burden of managing chronic oedema can be considerable to the NHS. Developing innovative solutions to the care and management of patients with chronic oedema has the potential to deliver prudent, cost-effective and high quality care within NHS Wales.

The study was a pilot Evaluation of the OGEP using retrospectively and prospectively collected patient recalled data.

A questionnaire collected health care service use data prior to receiving the OGEP (baseline) and at 3 months follow-up from 97 patients during the period June 2016 and January 2017. In addition, we analysed a patient reported health outcome using the EQ-5D 5L, which was completed by patients at the same two assessment points.

The total cost of managing chronic oedema in the 97 patients recruited was £563 729 (mean patient cost £5812 SD (£5870) at baseline and £445 098 (including the addition of intervention costs) (mean patient cost £4589 (SD £5465) at 3 months follow-up. Improvements in the EQ-5D 5L score increasing from 0.40 (SD 0.25) at baseline to 0.54 (SD 0.23) at 3 months follow-up.

Our research show health care resource use and costs decreased, while health-related quality of life scores increased.