NT-proBNP for heart failure diagnosis in Primary Care: Costs or savings? A budget impact study

Chronic heart failure (CHF) is a growing public health concern and diagnosis can be challenging, particularly in primary care. This study aims to estimate the budgetary impact of introducing N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) for CHF diagnosis in a primary care setting from the perspective of the Portuguese health system.

A budget impact analysis was conducted over one-year from the patients' first presentation. The standard of care (SoC) was compared to NT-proBNP at the point-of-care (PoC) or laboratory (Lab). A decision tree model was used to estimate the downstream costs associated with each of the three pathways.

An estimated 81 012 patients were expected to present to primary care with new onset CHF symptoms. The use of NT-proBNP as a primary diagnostic tool is estimated to generate annualized savings of EUR 935 657 and EUR 2 982 443 in the Lab and PoC setting, respectively. Estimated cost savings were due to the need for fewer medical visits, hospitalizations and echocardiograms (ECHO). The Lab and PoC settings led to similar reductions in hospitalizations (14.4%) and ECHO (27%), but the reduction in medical visits was higher in the PoC setting (38% compared to 2.5%), resulting in higher savings compared to Lab.

Using NT-proBNP for CHF diagnosis in primary care could result in considerable costs savings for the public health system in Portugal. This evidence might support health policy makers to reconsider the resource management and define a new strategy to mitigate the impact of CHF.