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Published on: July 12, 2024
Cost-Effectiveness of the Self-Care Management System for Heart Failure
Eisaku Nakane1, Takao Kato2, Nozomi Tanaka2
1Cardiovascular Center, Tazuke Kofukai Medical Research Institute, Kitano Hospital Osaka Japan.
Insights
The self-care management system for heart failure (HF) is cost-effective, reducing hospitalizations and healthcare costs while improving quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs). This system offers a valuable, affordable treatment option for HF patients.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Health Economics
- Medical Technology
Background:
- Previous research indicated that a self-care management system for heart failure (HF) reduces re-hospitalization rates.
- This study aimed to evaluate the economic viability of implementing this HF self-care management system.
Purpose of the Study:
- To estimate the cost-effectiveness of a self-care management system for heart failure (HF).
- To compare cardiovascular healthcare costs and calculate the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) between system users and non-users.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective analysis of 569 HF patients, with 153 users and 153 propensity-score matched non-users.
- Quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) were calculated using New York Heart Association class and quality of life scores every 3 months.
- Cardiovascular healthcare costs and total costs were compared between the two groups.
Main Results:
- The user group incurred lower total healthcare costs (¥129,797,016) compared to the non-user group (¥156,427,032).
- Hospitalizations were reduced in the user group (24 patients) versus the non-user group (43 patients).
- The self-care system use led to an increase in QALYs (0.653 to 0.686) and an ICER below zero, indicating cost-effectiveness.
Conclusions:
- The self-care management system for heart failure (HF) demonstrates significant cost-effectiveness.
- Implementation of the system is associated with improved patient outcomes (increased QALYs) and reduced healthcare expenditures.
- The system represents a valuable and economically sound treatment strategy for managing heart failure.
Background:
We recently reported that the self-care management system for heart failure (HF) decreased re-hospitalization for HF. In the present study we estimate the cost-effectiveness of this system.
Methods And Results:
We retrospectively enrolled 569 consecutive patients who were admitted for HF treatment at Kitano Hospital. In the present analysis, we sought to compare cardiovascular healthcare costs and the incremental cost-effective ratio (ICER), expressed as the cost per quality-adjusted life-years (QALY) gained, between patients using the self-care management system (n=153) and those not using the system (n=153) after propensity-score matching. To calculate the QALY, we used the New York Heart Association class and the corresponding scores of quality of life in every 3 months. The healthcare costs of cardiovascular disease were ¥129,747,016 in the user group and ¥156,427,032 in the non-user group, where 24 and 43 patients were hospitalized, respectively. The cost of this new system was ¥50,000 in the user group. The total costs were ¥129,797,016 in the user group and ¥156,427,032 in the non-user group. By using the system, the QALY increased from 0.653 to 0.686. The ICER was below 0 and the system was interpreted as cost-effective.
Conclusions:
Use of the self-care management system is likely to be a cost-effective treatment for HF with the increase in QALY and the decrease in healthcare costs.
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