Healthcare resource utilization following ECG sensor patch screening for atrial fibrillation

Screening for asymptomatic, undiagnosed atrial fibrillation (AF) has the potential to allow earlier treatment, possibly resulting in prevention of strokes, but also to increase medical resource utilization.

To compare healthcare utilization rates during the year following initiation of screening among participants screened for AF by electrocardiogram (ECG) sensor patch compared with a matched observational control group.

A total of 1718 participants recruited from a health care plan based on age and comorbidities who were screened with an ECG patch (actively monitored group) as part of a prospective, pragmatic research trial were matched by age, sex, and CHA₂DS₂-VASc score with 3371 members from the same health plan (observational control group). Healthcare utilization, including visits, prescriptions, procedures, and diagnoses, during the 1 year following screening was compared between the groups using health plan claims data.

Overall, the actively monitored group had significantly higher rates of cardiology visits (adjusted incidence rate ratio [aIRR] [95% confidence interval (CI)]: 1.43 [1.27, 1.60]), no difference in primary care provider visits (aIRR [95% CI]: 1.0 [0.95, 1.05]), but lower rates of emergency department (ED) visits and hospitalizations (aIRR [95% CI]: 0.80 [0.69, 0.92]) compared with controls. Among those with newly diagnosed AF, the reduction in ED visits and hospitalizations was even greater (aIRR [95% CI]: 0.27 [0.17, 0.43]).

AF screening in an asymptomatic, moderate-risk population with an ECG patch was associated with an increase in cardiology outpatient visits but also significantly lower rates of ED visits and hospitalizations over the 1 year following screening.