Cost savings associated with video directly observed therapy for treatment of tuberculosis

OBJECTIVE: To calculate the per-session and annual direct program costs to implement directly observed therapy (DOT) for tuberculosis treatment and to conduct a cost attribution analysis under varying proportions of DOT utilization for four DOT types.DESIGN: Program data covering the study period from September 2014 to August 2015 in New York City (NYC) were used to conduct a retrospective bottom-up micro-costing economic evaluation. For each DOT type, potential per-session and annual program savings were estimated as the cost averted by adopting a uniform distribution of DOT alternatives. Sensitivity analyses explored aggregate cost impacts of unequal distributions.RESULTS: There was a total of 38 035 unique DOT visits, of which 12 002 (32%) were clinic-based (CDOT); 15 483 (41%) were field-based (FDOT); 7185 (19%) were live-video (LVDOT); and 3365 (9%) were recorded-video (RVDOT). The per-session direct costs (in 2016 $US) for DOT services delivered during the study period were $8.46 for CDOT; $19.83 for FDOT; $6.54 for LVDOT; and $5.35 for RVDOT. Sensitivity analyses supported the main findings.CONCLUSIONS: Significant cost savings were estimated with increased utilization of VDOT. Assuming equivalent treatment adherence, duration, completion, and adverse events across DOT types, RVDOT was the modality that most minimized cost.