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Objective: This post hoc analysis of the ESCAPE-TRD trial compared work productivity loss (WPL) and related costs among patients with treatment-resistant depression (TRD) receiving esketamine nasal spray or quetiapine extended release in combination with an oral antidepressant., Methods: Adults with TRD randomized to receive esketamine (56/84 mg) or quetiapine (150-300 mg) combined with ongoing antidepressant therapy were included. WPL was assessed using the Work Productivity and Activity Impairment questionnaire. Least squares (LS) mean WPL change versus baseline (treatment initiation date), and LS mean differences (MDs) between esketamine and quetiapine cohorts were reported at weeks 8-32 of treatment using mixed models for repeated measurements. Per patient productivity cost savings were estimated using mean 2021 weekly wages from US Bureau of Labor Statistics., Results: The esketamine cohort included 165 patients, and quetiapine cohort included 156 patients. At baseline, total WPL was 77.0% and 72.5% in the esketamine and quetiapine cohorts, respectively. By week 8, total WPL decreased from baseline by 30.3 and 17.3 percentage points (pp) in the esketamine and quetiapine cohorts (MD = 13.0 pp; 95% confidence interval [CI], 6.3-19.8 pp), resulting in weekly cost savings of $363 and $207 (MD = $156; 95% CI, $76-$237), respectively. By week 32, total WPL decreased from baseline by 45.3 pp and 32.5 pp in the esketamine and quetiapine cohorts (MD = 12.7 pp; 95% CI, 4.7-20.7 pp), with weekly cost savings of $543 and $390 (MD = $153; 95% CI, $57-$250), respectively., Conclusion: Among employed adults with TRD, esketamine treatment was associated with significantly larger improvements in WPL and related costs compared to quetiapine, suggesting greater benefits from patient well-being and employer perspectives., (© Copyright 2025 Physicians Postgraduate Press, Inc.)

Objective: We aimed to estimate travel-related time and cost savings from the use of telemedicine for an inpatient hospital-at-home program., Methods: This was a retrospective study on the initial data obtained from a newly implemented hospital-at-home program from June 26, 2023, to March 31, 2024. Time cost savings were calculated based on difference between time spent on teleconsultation versus time needed to travel a round trip to patients' homes to conduct physical consultation via home visit. Travel distances were calculated based on the distance of patient's homes from the hospital., Results: There were 505 teleconsultations (497 scheduled, 8 unscheduled) delivered throughout 132 enrollments. Total travel distance saved was 4022 km. Total time savings was 18 707 minutes or 13.0 days. Total trip cost savings were Singapore dollars 4618.70., Conclusions: Despite being a newly introduced program, utilization of telemedicine in delivery of hospital-at-home showed time savings for the clinicians, cost savings from the distance needed to travel otherwise. Incorporation of telemedicine in hospital-at-home delivery demonstrated time and distance savings even at the pilot phase of program., Competing Interests: Author Disclosures Author disclosure forms can be accessed below in the Supplemental Material section., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objective: To estimate costs of severe to profound hearing loss, including costs and cost-savings associated with cochlear implantation., Methods: Data was obtained from the National Health Interview Survey, the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey and national Medicare rates. We used continuous time state transition models with individual patient simulations to estimate the costs of severe to profound hearing loss (SPHL) across the lifespan. The model included four states, normal hearing, severe to profound hearing loss, cochlear implantation, and death., Results: The estimated lifetime cost of an individual born with SPHL is $489,274 [377,518; 616,519]. Costs are lower for those who received a cochlear implant before 18 months of age $390,931 [311,976; 471,475], compared to those who are not implanted $608,167 [442,544; 791,719]. For individuals with a later onset of hearing loss (60 years old) lifetime costs were $154,536 [7,093; 302,936]. The annual societal costs for the US population were estimated to be $37 [8; 187] billion., Conclusions: SPHL is a costly condition, with the primary driver being lost productivity. Medical costs were higher for cochlear implantation, however, the higher income earnings offset the higher medical costs. Overall, early implantation substantially reduced lifetime costs. Access to hearing health care and technology is critical given the documented benefits for language, education, and quality of life. Government and insurance policies should be modified to allow for equal access and coverage for hearing technology, which will ultimately reduce lifetime and societal costs., Levels of Evidence: N/A The current study used existing nationally representative datasets. Thus, these levels of evidence do not apply. Laryngoscope, 134:4358-4365, 2024., (© 2024 The Authors. The Laryngoscope published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of The American Laryngological, Rhinological and Otological Society, Inc.)

Purpose: Real-time prescription benefits (RTPB) shows prescribers patient-, medication-, and pharmacy-specific information on medication pricing, prior authorization requirements, and lower-cost alternatives. RTPB is intended to improve patient satisfaction and prescription fill rates by decreasing out-of-pocket costs for prescriptions. Therefore, we evaluated how RTPB affects prescribing patterns by examining acceptance and subsequent fill rates for RTPB alternative suggestions., Methods: RTPB was implemented in February 2022 using external vendor interfaces. Prescribing data from March 2022 to March 2023 were analyzed. RTPB displayed alerts for medications requiring prior authorization or when alternative medications would result in cost savings. Patients were included if their prescription received an RTPB response and they had a subsequent encounter with pharmacy fill data. Primary outcomes were alert acceptance rates and prescription fill rates across RTPB alert groups, with a secondary outcome of monthly copay savings for accepted alerts., Results: RTPB requests received a response for 88% of prescriptions, with price estimates provided for 77.9% of them. Lower-cost alternatives accounted for 67.2% of alerts, while prior authorization requirements represented 15% of alerts. Prescribers selected a lower-cost alternative 32% of the time. For those with an RTPB alert, patients filled prescriptions 68% of the time when an alternative was chosen, compared to 59% of the time when the original prescription was retained (odds ratio, 1.5; 95% confidence interval, 1.5-1.6; P < 0.001). Patients saved an average of $27.77 per month on copay costs when alternatives were selected., Conclusion: Implementation of RTPB was found to result in significant improvements in prescription fill rates and decrease patient copay costs, despite low alert acceptance rates., (© American Society of Health-System Pharmacists 2024.)

Pharmacist-led interventions are pivotal in identifying and resolving potential adverse drug events (pADEs) while enhancing blood pressure control and medication adherence through educational and counseling interventions. This practice brief outlines the outcomes of the Blue Bag Initiative (BBI), which enhanced pharmacist-led comprehensive medication reviews (CMRs) across community pharmacies in Virginia under Center for Disease Control Cooperative Agreement NU58DP006535. BBI yielded a rate of 131.6 pADEs identified per 100 participants and demonstrated cost savings of 1 to 3 million dollars for the health care system. This report underscores the significance of a standardized, pharmacist-led CMR as integral to interdisciplinary team-based care models within physician practices, facilitating medication therapy management implementation. Enhanced CMR can improve cardiovascular health outcomes while reducing health care expenditures by augmenting patient engagement and medication adherence. This study thus highlights the efficacy and potential of pharmacist-led interventions in increasing access to and optimizing patient care., Competing Interests: The authors have indicated no potential conflicts of interest to disclose., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.)

Background: Patients living with life-limiting illnesses other than cancer constitute the majority of patients in need of palliative care globally, yet most previous systematic reviews of the cost impact of palliative care have not exclusively focused on this population. Reviews that tangentially looked at non-cancer patients found inconclusive evidence. Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) are the gold standard for treatment efficacy, while total health care costs offer a comprehensive measure of resource use. In the sole review of RCTs for non-cancer patients, palliative care reduced hospitalisations and emergency department visits but its effect on total health care costs was not assessed. The aim of this study is to review RCTs to determine the difference in costs between a palliative care approach and usual care in adult non-cancer patients with a life-limiting illness., Methods: A systematic review using a narrative synthesis approach. The protocol was registered with PROSPERO prospectively (no. CRD42020191082). Eight databases were searched: Medline, CINAHL, EconLit, EMBASE, TRIP database, NHS Evidence, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science from inception to January 2023. Inclusion criteria were: English or German; randomised controlled trials (RCTs); adult non-cancer patients (> 18 years); palliative care provision; a comparator group of standard or usual care. Quality of studies was assessed using Drummond's checklist for assessing economic evaluations., Results: Seven RCTs were included and examined the following diseases: neurological (3), heart failure (2), AIDS (1) and mixed (1). The majority (6/7) were home-based interventions. All studies were either cost-saving (3/7) or cost-neutral (4/7); and four had improved outcomes for patients or carers and three no change in outcomes., Conclusions: In a non-cancer population, this is the first systematic review of RCTs that has demonstrated a palliative care approach is cost-saving or at least cost-neutral. Cost savings are achieved without worsening outcomes for patients and carers. These findings lend support to calls to increase palliative care provision globally., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background: Day surgery for unicompartmental knee replacement (UKR) could potentially reduce hospital costs. We aimed to measure the impact of introducing a day surgery UKR pathway on mean length of stay (LOS) and costs for the UK NHS, compared to an accelerated inpatient pathway. Secondly, the study aimed to compare the magnitude of costs using three costing approaches: top-down costing; simple micro-costing; and real-world costing., Methods: We conducted an observational, before-and-after study of 2,111 UKR patients at one NHS hospital: 1,094 patients followed the day surgery pathway between September 2017 and February 2020; and 1,017 patients followed the accelerated inpatient pathway between September 2013 and February 2016. Top-down costs were estimated using Average NHS Costs. Simple micro-costing used the cost per bed-day. Real-world costs for this centre were estimated by costing actual changes in staffing levels., Results: 532 (48.5%) patients in the day surgery pathway were discharged on the day of surgery compared with 36 (3.5%) patients in the accelerated inpatient pathway. The day surgery pathway reduced the mean LOS by 2.2 (95% CI: 1.81, 2.53) nights and was associated with an 18% decrease in Average NHS Costs (p < 0.001). Mean savings were £1,429 per patient with the Average NHS Costs approach, £905 per patient with the micro-costing approach, and £577 per patient with the "real-world" costing approach. Overall, moving NHS UKR surgeries to a day surgery pathway could save the NHS £8,659,740 per year., Conclusion: Day surgery for UKR could produce substantial cost savings for hospitals and the NHS., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: DM has received or will receive benefits for personal or professional use from a commercial party related directly to the subject of this article. The other authors declare that they have no competing interests to declare., (Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: Tailoring asthma interventions based on biomarkers could substantially impact the high cost associated with asthma morbidity. For policymakers, the main concern is the economic impact of adopting this technology, especially in developing countries. This study evaluates the budget impact of asthma management using sputum eosinophil counts in Colombia patients between 4 and 18 years of age., Methods: A budget impact analysis was performed to evaluate the potential financial impact of sputum eosinophil counts (EO). The study considered a 5-year time horizon and the Colombian National Health System perspective. The incremental budget impact was calculated by subtracting the cost of the new treatment, in which EO is reimbursed, from the cost of the conventional therapy without EO (management based on clinical symptoms (with or without spirometry/peak flow) or asthma guidelines (or both), for asthma-related). Univariate one-way sensitivity analyses were performed., Results: In the base-case analysis, the 5-year costs associated with EO and no-EO were estimated to be US$ 532.865.915 and US$ 540.765.560, respectively, indicating savings for Colombian National Health equal to US$ 7.899.645, if EO is adopted for the routine management of patients with persistent asthma. This result was robust in univariate sensitivity one-way analysis., Conclusion: EO was cost-saving in guiding the treatment of patients between 4 and 18 years of age with persistent asthma. Decision-makers in our country can use this evidence to improve clinical practice guidelines, and it should be replicated to validate their results in other middle-income countries.

Introduction: Approximately 75% of traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) qualify as mild. However, there exists no universally agreed upon definition for mild TBI (mTBI). Consequently, treatment guidelines for this group are lacking. The Center for Disease Control (CDC), American College of Rehabilitation Medicine (ACRM), Veterans Affairs and Department of Defense (VA/DoD), Eastern Association for the Surgery of Trauma (EAST), and the University of Arizona's Brain Injury Guidelines (BIG) have each published differing definitions for mTBI. The aim of this study was to compare the ability of these definitions to correctly classify mTBI patients in the acute care setting., Methods: A single-center, retrospective cohort study comparing the performance of the varying definitions of mTBI was performed at a Level I trauma center from August 2015 to December 2018. Definitions were compared by sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, as well as overtriage and undertriage rates. Finally, a cost-savings analysis was performed., Results: We identified 596 patients suffering blunt TBI with Glasgow Coma Scale 13-15. The CDC/ACRM definitions demonstrated 100% sensitivity but 0% specificity along with the highest rate of undertriage and TBI-related mortality. BIG 1 included nearly twice as many patients than EAST and VA/DoD while achieving a superior positive predictive value and undertriage rate., Conclusions: The BIG definition identified a larger number of patients compared to the VA/DoD and EAST definitions while having an acceptable and more accurate overtriage and undertriage rate compared to the CDC and ACRM. By eliminating undertriage and minimizing overtriage rates, the BIG maintains patient safety while enhancing the efficiency of healthcare systems. Using the BIG definition, a cost savings of $395,288.95-$401,263.95 per year could be obtained at our level 1 trauma facility without additional mortality., (Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Objective: To assess the outcomes, total healthcare utilization, and cost savings for same-day discharge (SDD) vs inpatient robotic-assisted partial nephrectomy (RAPN) and robotic-assisted radical nephrectomy (RARN)., Methods: We compared 146 RAPNs and 65 RARNs consecutively performed as SDD (RAPN=21, RARN=9) vs inpatient (RAPN=125, RARN=56) from April 2015 to May 2023 at two academic medical centers. We collected baseline demographics, perioperative characteristics, and 30-day complications. We applied the Time-Driven Activity-Based Costing analysis to compare total costs of RAPN and PARN throughout the cycle of care, including inpatient vs SDD., Results: Baseline demographics and comorbidities were similar between patients undergoing inpatient vs SDD RAPN and RARN. One Clavien-Dindo grade II complication (3.3%) requiring readmission due to wound infection for antibiotics occurred after SDD RAPN; no complications occurred after SDD RARN. Two unscheduled office or emergency department visits (6.7%) occurred after SDD RAPN for surgical-site infection and urinary retention. SDD vs inpatient RAPN and RARN demonstrated a $3091 (18%) and $4003 (25%) overall cost reduction, respectively., Conclusion: SDD RAPN and RARN result in cost savings of 18%-25% without a difference in complications, and thereby improves value-based care for appropriately selected patients., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest Jim C. Hu receives research support from the Frederick J. and Theresa Dow Wallace Fund of the New York Community Trust. Jim C. Hu also receives salary support from NIH R01 CA241758, R01 CA259173, R01 CA273031, PCORI CER-2019C1-15682 and CER-2019C2-17372 and a Prostate Cancer Foundation Challenge Award. Jim C. Hu is also a consultant for Intuitive Surgical and Pfizer. The other authors have no conflict of interest to declare., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Background: Mohs micrographic surgery efficiently treats skin cancer through staged resection, but surgeons' varying resection rates may lead to higher medical costs., Objective: To evaluate the cost savings associated with a quality improvement., Materials and Methods: The authors conducted a retrospective cohort study using 100% Medicare fee-for-service claims data to identify the change of mean stages per case for head/neck (HN) and trunk/extremity (TE) lesions before and after the quality improvement intervention from 2016 to 2021. They evaluated surgeon-level change in mean stages per case between the intervention and control groups, as well as the cost savings to Medicare over the same time period., Results: A total of 2,014 surgeons performed Mohs procedures on HN lesions. Among outlier surgeons who were notified, 31 surgeons (94%) for HN and 24 surgeons (89%) for TE reduced their mean stages per case with a median reduction of 0.16 and 0.21 stages, respectively. Reductions were also observed among outlier surgeons who were not notified, reducing their mean stages per case by 0.1 and 0.15 stages, respectively. The associated total 5-year savings after the intervention was 92 million USD., Conclusion: The implementation of this physician-led benchmarking model was associated with broad reductions of physician utilization and significant cost savings., (Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. on behalf of the American Society for Dermatologic Surgery, Inc.)

Objectives: Increasing uptake and completion of Pulmonary Rehabilitation in people with COPD has the potential to deliver health benefit and reduce health inequalities. We have quantified the cost-effectiveness of enhancing PR access and completion by reviewing the cost-effectiveness literature for PR in COPD. Methods: A literature review identified studies that provided cost-effectiveness evidence for PR compared to no PR. The key metrics of interest were healthcare resource use and cost savings, and quality adjusted life year (QALY) gains. Healthcare resource use data were valued using the UK NHS National Tariff 2022/23. From the literature search we identified the QALY gain resulting from completion of PR. The value of the QALY gain resulting from PR completion was calculated using the standard willingness-to-pay threshold of £20,000 considered by the UK National Institute for Health and care Excellence (NICE). Results: We estimated a QALY gain resulting from completion of PR of 0.065 and value of the QALY gain was therefore calculated to be £1300 per person completing PR. We estimated the 12 month reduction in hospitalisation following completion of PR to be 8.2% giving a total cost reduction per patient of £245. We therefore calculated that up to £1545 could be spent per person with COPD to deliver PR cost-effectively. Conclusion: Our analysis provides commissioners with the information they need to make informed decisions about planning and provision of PR. The data allows estimation of additional resources that could be deployed in addressing inequitable access to PR among disadvantaged and underserved populations whilst retaining cost effectiveness of the intervention., Competing Interests: Declaration of conflicting interestsThe author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Objective: Many employers have introduced rewards programs as a new benefit design in which employees are paid $25-$500 if they receive care from lower-priced providers. Our goal was to assess the impact of the rewards program on procedure prices and choice of provider and how these outcomes vary by length of exposure to the program and patient population., Study Setting: A total of 87 employers from across the nation with 563,000 employees and dependents who have introduced the rewards program in 2017 and 2018., Study Design: Difference-in-difference analysis comparing changes in average prices and market share of lower-priced providers among employers who introduced the reward program to those that did not., Data Collection Methods: We used claims data for 3.9 million enrollees of a large health plan., Principal Findings: Introduction of the program was associated with a 1.3% reduction in prices during the first year and a 3.7% reduction in the second year of access. Use of the program and price reductions are concentrated among magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) services, for which 30% of patients engaged with the program, 5.6% of patients received an incentive payment in the first year, and 7.8% received an incentive payment in the second year. MRI prices were 3.7% and 6.5% lower in the first and second years, respectively. We did not observe differential impacts related to enrollment in a consumer-directed health plan or the degree of market-level price variation. We also did not observe a change in utilization., Conclusions: The introduction of financial incentives to reward patients from receiving care from lower-priced providers is associated with modest price reductions, and savings are concentrated among MRI services., (© 2021 Health Research and Educational Trust.)

Aim: To estimate cost-savings from conversion to biosimilar pegfilgrastim-cbqv that could be reallocated to provide budget-neutral expanded access to AC (doxorubicin/cyclophosphamide) and TCH (docetaxel/carboplatin/trastuzumab) in breast cancer (BC) patients. Methods: Simulation modeling in panels of 20,000 BC and 5000 HER2+ (HER2+ BC) patients, varying treatment duration (one-six cycles) and conversion rates (10-100%), to estimate cost-savings and additional AC and TCH treatment that could be provided. Results: In 20,000 patients, cost-savings of $1,083 per-patient per-cycle translate to $21,652,064 (one cycle) to $129,912,397 (six cycles). Savings range from $5,413,016 to $32,478,097, respectively, in the 5000-patient HER2+ BC panel. Conclusion: Conversion to pegfilgrastim-cbqv could save up to $130 million and provide more than 220,000 additional cycles of antineoplastic treatment on a budget-neutral basis to BC patients.

Objectives: Perioperative inefficiency can increase cost. We describe a process improvement initiative that addressed preoperative delays on an academic vascular surgery service., Methods: First case vascular surgeries from July 2019-January 2020 were retrospectively reviewed for delays, defined as late arrival to the operating room (OR). A stakeholder group spearheaded by a surgeon-informaticist analyzed this process and implemented a novel electronic medical records (EMR) preoperative tool with improved preoperative workflow and role delegation; results were reviewed for 3 months after implementation., Results: 57% of cases had first case on-time starts with average delay of 19 min. Inappropriate preoperative orders were identified as a dominant delay source (average delay = 38 min). Three months post-implementation, 53% of first cases had on-time starts with average delay of 11 min (P < 0.05). No delays were due to missing orders., Conclusions: Inconsistent preoperative workflows led to inappropriate orders and delays, increasing cost and decreasing quality. A novel EMR tool subsequently reduced delays with projected savings of $1,200/case. Workflow standardization utilizing informatics can increase efficiency, raising the value of surgical care., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Guidelines recommend screening for primary aldosteronism in patients diagnosed with hypertension and obstructive sleep apnea. Recent studies have shown that adherence to these recommendations is extremely low. It has been suggested that cost is a barrier to implementation. No analysis has been done to rigorously evaluate the cost-effectiveness of widespread implementation of these guidelines., Methods: We constructed a decision-analytic model to evaluate screening of the hypertensive obstructive sleep apnea population for primary aldosteronism as per guideline recommendations in comparison with current rates of screening. Probabilities, utility values, and costs were identified in the literature. Threshold and sensitivity analyses assessed robustness of the model. Costs were represented in 2020 US dollars and health outcomes in quality-adjusted life-years. The model assumed a societal perspective with a lifetime time horizon., Results: Screening per guideline recommendations had an expected cost of $47,016 and 35.27 quality-adjusted life-years. Continuing at current rates of screening had an expected cost of $48,350 and 34.86 quality-adjusted life-years. Screening was dominant, as it was both less costly and more effective. These results were robust to sensitivity analysis of disease prevalence, test sensitivity, patient age, and expected outcome of medical or surgical treatment of primary aldosteronism. The screening strategy remained cost-effective even if screening were conservatively presumed to identify only 3% of new primary aldosteronism cases., Conclusions: For patients with hypertension and obstructive sleep apnea, rigorous screening for primary aldosteronism is cost-saving due to cardiovascular risk averted. Cost should not be a barrier to improving primary aldosteronism screening adherence., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Purpose: We aim to assess the healthcare value achieved from a shared savings program for pediatric appendectomy., Methods: All appendectomy patients covered by our health plan were included. Quality targets were 15% reduction in time to surgery, length of stay, readmission rate, and patient satisfaction. Quality targets and costs for an appendectomy episode in two 6-month performance periods (PP1, PP2) were compared to baseline., Results: 640 patients were included (baseline:317, PP1:167, PP2:156). No quality targets were met in PP1. Two quality targets were met during PP2: readmission rate (-57%) and patient satisfaction. No savings were realized because the cost reduction threshold (-9%) was not met during PP1 (+1.7%) or PP2 (-0.4%)., Conclusions: Payer-provider partnerships can be a platform for testing value-based reimbursement models. Setting achievable targets, identifying affectable quality metrics, considering case mix index, and allowing sufficient time for interventions to generate cost savings should be considered in future programs., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Health-care expenditures in the U.S. are continually rising, prompting providers, patients, and payers to search for solutions to reduce costs while maintaining quality. The present study seeks to define the out-of-pocket price that patients undergoing hand surgery are willing to pay, and also queries the potential cost-cutting measures that patients are most and least comfortable with. We hypothesized that respondents would be less accepting of higher out-of-pocket costs., Methods: A survey was developed and distributed to paid, anonymous respondents through Amazon Mechanical Turk. The survey introduced 3 procedures: carpal tunnel release, cubital tunnel release, and open reduction and internal fixation of a distal radial fracture. Respondents were randomized to 1 of 5 out-of-pocket price options for each procedure and asked if they would pay that price. Respondents were then presented with various cost-saving methods and asked to select the options that made them most uncomfortable, even if those would save them out-of-pocket costs., Results: There were 1,408 respondents with a mean age of 37 years (range, 18 to 74 years). Nearly 80% of respondents were willing to pay for all 3 of the procedures regardless of which price they were presented. Carpal tunnel release was the most price-sensitive, with rejection rates of 17% at the highest price ($3,000) and 6% at the lowest ($250). Open reduction and internal fixation was the least price-sensitive, with rejection rates of 11% and 6% at the highest and lowest price, respectively. The use of older-generation implants was the least acceptable cost-cutting measure, at 50% of respondents., Conclusions: The present study showed that most patients are willing to pay a considerable amount of money out of pocket for hand surgery after the condition, treatment, and outcomes are explained to them. Furthermore, respondents are hesitant to sacrifice advanced technology despite increased costs., Competing Interests: Disclosure: The Disclosure of Potential Conflicts of Interest forms are provided with the online version of the article (http://links.lww.com/JBJS/G681)., (Copyright © 2021 by The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, Incorporated.)

Aim: To estimate the cost-savings from conversion to biosimilar pegfilgrastim-cbqv that can be reallocated to provide budget-neutral expanded access to FOLFIRINOX in patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer. Methods: Simulation modeling in a panel of 2500 FOLFIRINOX-treated patients, using varying treatment duration (1-12 cycles) and conversion rates (10-100%), to estimate cost-savings and additional FOLFIRINOX treatment that could be budget neutral. Results: In a 2500-patient panel at 100% conversion, savings of US$6,907.41 per converted patient over 12 cycles of prophylaxis translate to US$17.3 million and could provide 72,273 additional FOLFIRINOX doses or 6023 full 6-month regimens. Conclusion: Conversion to biosimilar CIN/FN prophylaxis can generate significant cost-savings and provide budget-neutral expanded access to FOLFIRINOX treatment for patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer.

Objective: Compassionate Drug Use (CDU) allows patients with a specific disease and no further treatment option to access unauthorized treatments. In this study, we analyzed the requests of CDU approved by the Ethics Committee of Fondazione Policlinico Gemelli in the period January 1, 2018-June 30, 2021. We also estimated the economic impact of CUs., Materials and Methods: CDU requests were analyzed by year, by frequency and by regulatory status of the medicines requested. If an ex-factory price was available at the cutoff date of June 30, 2021, we estimated what would have been the costs for the National Health System (NHS) if the price was already negotiated at the time of CDU request., Results: In the study period, 463 CDU requests were processed by the Ethics Committee. The number of requests increase linearly from 45 in 2018 to an estimated number of 260 in 2021. The requests included 68 medicines or combinations of medicines; 16 products out of 68 accounted for 75% of all requests. For 7 of these 16 highly requested treatments, accounting for 110 requests out of 463, it was possible to estimate the costs of therapies according to their ex-factory prices. If these products were to be purchased by the NHS, the estimated cost was € 5.472.225., Conclusions: The access to unauthorized drugs through CDUs is undergoing a huge increase in the last few years. Such increase meets the ethical need to provide patients with the most recent, often innovative, therapeutic options.

Whole grain consumption has been associated with the reduced risk of several chronic diseases with significant healthcare monetary burden, including cancer. Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common cancers globally, with the highest rates reported in Australia. Three servings of whole grains provide a 15% reduction in total cancer and 17% reduction in CRC risk; however, 70% of Australians fall short of this level of intake. The aim of this study was to assess the potential savings in healthcare costs associated with reductions in the relative risk of CRC and total cancer mortality following the whole grain Daily Target Intake (DTI) of 48 g in Australia. A three-step cost-of-illness analysis was conducted using input parameters from: (1) estimates of current and targeted whole grain intakes among proportions (5%, 15%, 50%, and 100%) of the Australian adult (≥20 years) population; (2) estimates of reductions in relative risk (with 95% confidence intervals) of CRC and total cancer mortality associated with specific whole grain intake from meta-analysis studies; and (3) estimates of annual healthcare costs of CRC and all cancers from disease expenditure national databases. A very pessimistic (5% of population) through to universal (100% of population) adoption of the recommended DTI in Australia were shown to potentially yield savings in annual healthcare costs equal to AUD 1.9 (95% CI 1.2-2.4) to AUD 37.2 (95% CI 24.1-48.1) million for CRC and AUD 20.3 (95% CI 12.2-27.0) to AUD 405.1 (95% CI 243.1-540.1) million for total cancers. As treatment costs for CRC and other cancers are increasing, and dietary measures exchanging whole grains for refined grains are not cost preclusive nor does the approach increase energy intake, there is an opportunity to facilitate cost-savings along with reductions in disease for Australia. These results suggest specific benefits of encouraging Australians to swap refined grains for whole grains, with greater overall adherence to suggestions in dietary guidelines.

Objective: To assess the appropriateness of abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) screening with ultrasound (US) and potential cost savings by adhering to guidelines and reviewing prior imaging., Methods: Screening aortic US performed in Nova Scotia from January 1 to April 30, 2019, were reviewed. Patient sex, age, risk factors, and study result (negative, <2.5 cm; ectatic, 2.5-2.9 cm; positive for AAA, ≥3 cm) were recorded. Previous imaging tests were reviewed for the presence/absence of aortic ectasia or aneurysm. Appropriateness was based on the Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care (CTFPHC) and the Canadian Society of Vascular Surgery (CSVS) guidelines. The number of potentially averted US, subsequent missed positive findings, and cost savings (over the 4-month period) were calculated according to: 1) each guideline; and 2) each guideline combined with review of imaging done 0 to 5 years and 0 to 10 years previously., Results: There were 17 (4.6%) of 369 ectatic aortas and 18 (4.9%) of 369 AAAs. The number of potentially averted examinations, missed ectatic aortas, missed AAAs, and cost savings were as follows, respectively: CTFPHC, 222 (60.2%) of 369, 8, 7, and CAD$20 501.70; CSVS, 117 (31.7%) of 369, 4, 2, and CAD$10 804.95. The model that would yield the greatest cost savings and fewest missed positive findings was the combination of CSVS guidelines with review of prior imaging within 5 years; this would avert 189 (51.2%) of 369 examinations, save CAD$17 454.15 over 4 months, and miss only 2 AAAs and 2 ectatic aortas., Conclusion: Over half of aortic US screening tests can be safely averted by adhering to CSVS guidelines and reviewing imaging performed within 5 years.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to examine the cost-effectiveness of branded and authorized generic (AG) celecoxib for chronic pain patients with osteoarthritis (OA), rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and low back pain (LBP), using real-world cost information for loxoprofen and pharmacotherapy for gastrointestinal bleeding., Methods: This cost-effectiveness analysis was performed as a long-term simulation using the Markov model from the Japanese public healthcare payer's perspective. The analysis was conducted using loxoprofen with real-world weighted price by branded/generic distribution (hereinafter, loxoprofen with weighted price) as a comparator. In the model, we simulated the prognosis of patients with chronic pain by OA, RA, and LBP treated with loxoprofen or celecoxib, over a lifetime period., Results: A cost-increase of 129,688 JPY (1,245.00 USD) for branded celecoxib and a cost-reduction of 6,268 JPY (60.17 USD) for AG celecoxib were recognized per patient in lifetime horizon, compared to loxoprofen with weighted price. No case was recognized to reverse the results of cost-saving by AG celecoxib in one-way sensitivity analysis. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of branded celecoxib attained 5,403,667 JPY/QALY (51,875.20 USD/QALY), compared to loxoprofen with the weighted price., Conclusion: The current cost-effectiveness analysis for AG celecoxib revealed its good value for costs, considering the patients' future risk of gastrointestinal injury; also, the impact on costs due to AG celecoxib against loxoprofen will be small. It implies that the disadvantage of AG celecoxib being slightly more expensive than generic loxoprofen could be offset by the good cost-effectiveness during the prognosis., Competing Interests: Yusuke Karasawa and Kazutaka Nozawa are employees of Viatris Pharmaceuticals Japan Inc. Shigeki Zeniya and Tatsunori Murata are employees of CRECON Medical Assessment Inc. Satoshi Soen has received consulting fees, speaking fees, and/or honoraria from Asahi Kasei Pharma, Astellas, Amgen, Daiichi-Sankyo, Eli-Lilly Japan, and UCB Japan. Choitsu Sakamoto has received lecture rewards from Pfizer Japan and Astellas. Isao Kamae declares no conflicts of interest associated with this manuscript. The competing interests do not alter our adherence to PLOS ONE policies on sharing data and materials.

Cancer is one of the leading causes of death with 9.6 million deaths registered in 2018, of which 70% occur in Africa, Asia and Central and South America, the low-and middle-income countries (LMICs). The global annual expenditure on anticancer medicines increased from $96 billion in 2013 to $133 billion in 2017. This growth rate is several folds that of newly diagnosed cancer cases and therefore estimated to reach up to $200 billion by 2022. The Uganda Cancer Institute, Uganda's national referral cancer center, has increased access to cancer medicines through an efficient and cost-saving procurement system. The system has achieved cost savings of more than USD 2,000,000 on a total of 37 of 42 essential cancer medicines. This has resulted in 85.8% availability superseding the WHO's 80% target. All selected products were procured from manufacturers with stringent regulatory authority approval or a proven track record of quality products.

Introduction: Cancer drug therapy costs continue to rise and threaten the sustainability of Canada's public healthcare system. Previous studies have calculated potential savings utilizing different dosing regimens of cancer treatments. Our objectives were to determine the financial impact of drug wastage and to explore cost-effective dosing regimens for pembrolizumab., Methods: This was a retrospective study reviewing data for non-small cell lung cancer and melanoma patients at all six BC Cancer Regional Centres during fiscal years 2017 and 2018. Pembrolizumab waste amounts recorded in pharmacy wastage logs were totalled. Estimates of the number of vials used were compared between vial sharing and non-vial sharing practices to determine the cost differences. Costs for dosing regimens used during fiscal years 2017 and 2018 were compared to 2 mg/kg weight-based dosing (to a maximum of 200 mg), 2 mg/kg dosing rounding down within 5% and 10%, and flat dosing of 200 mg., Results: There were a total of 202 non-small cell lung cancer and 182 melanoma patients with 2948 doses dispensed. Documented wastage was valued at $1,829,047.44 (8.65%) and across all six centres, vial sharing could reduce costs by $3,207,600.00 using the 100 mg vials. Compared to fiscal years 2017 and 2018, 2 mg/kg dosing (to a maximum of 200 mg) was the most cost-effective, decreasing costs by $222,719.20; flat dosing of 200 mg was the most expensive, increasing costs by $6,625,260.40., Conclusions: Having smaller vial sizes, practicing vial sharing, and using weight-based dosing all improve cost savings. Further investigations on the allocation of resources to optimize drug use and minimize wastage are needed.

Background: The aim was to describe the introduction and operation of a virtual developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH) clinic. Our secondary objectives were to provide an overview of DDH referral reasons, treatment outcomes, and adverse events associated with it., Methods: A prospective observational study involving all patients referred to the virtual DDH clinic was conducted. The clinic consultant delivered with 2 DDH clinical nurse specialists (CNS). The outcomes following virtual review include further virtual review, CNS review, consultant review or discharge. Treatment options include surveillance, brace therapy, or surgery. Efficiency and cost analysis were assessed., Results: Over the 3.5-year study period, 1002 patients were reviewed, of which 743 (74.2%) were female. The median age at time of referral was 7 months, (interquartile range of 5 to 11) with a median time to treatment decision of 9 days. Median waiting times from referral to treatment decision was reduced by over 70%. There were 639 virtual reviews, 186 CNS reviews, and 144 consultant reviews. The direct discharge rate was 24%. One hundred one patients (10%) had dislocated or subluxed hips at initial visit while 26.3% had radiographically normal hips. Over the study period 704 face to face (F2F) visits were avoided. Cost reductions of €170 were achieved per patient, with €588,804 achieved in total. Eighteen parents (1.8%) opted for F2F instead of virtual review. There were no unscheduled rereferrals or recorded adverse events., Conclusion: We report the outcomes of the first prospective virtual DDH clinic. This clinic has demonstrated efficiency and cost-effectiveness, without reported adverse outcomes to date. It is an option to provide consultant delivered DDH care, while reducing F2F consults., Level of Evidence: Level III., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2021 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Extended care facility use is a primary driver of variation in hospitalization-associated health care payments and is increasingly a focus for savings under episode-based payment. However, concerns remain that extended care facility limits could incur rising readmissions, emergency department use, or other costs. We analyzed the effects of a statewide value improvement initiative to decrease extended care facility use after lower extremity arthroplasty on extended care facility use, readmission, emergency department use, and payments., Methods: We performed a retrospective cohort study using complete claims from the Michigan Value Collaborative for patients undergoing lower extremity joint replacement. We compared the change in extended care facility use before (2012-2013) and after (2016-2017) the aforementioned statewide initiative with 90-day postacute care, readmission, and emergency department rates and payments using t tests., Results: Of the patients included, 68,537 underwent total knee arthroplasty; 27,131 underwent total hip arthroplasty. Statewide, extended care facility use and postacute care payments decreased (extended care facility: 27.5% before vs 18.1% after, payments: $4,999 vs $3,832, P < .0001) without increased readmission rates (8.0% vs 7.6%, P = .10) or payments ($1,087 vs $1,026, P = .14). Emergency department use increased (7.8% vs 8.9%, P < .0001). Per hospital, there was no association between extended care facility use change and readmission rate change (r = 0.05). Hospital change in extended care facility use ranged from +2.3% (no extended care facility decrease group) to -16.6% (large extended care facility decrease group) and was associated with lower total episode payments without differences in change in readmission rate/payments or emergency department use., Conclusion: Despite decreased use of extended care facilities, there was no compensatory increase in readmission rate or payments. Reducing excess use of extended care facilities after joint replacement may be an important opportunity for savings in episode-based reimbursement., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

BACKGROUND: Darolutamide, a structurally distinct androgen receptor inhibitor approved for the treatment of men with nonmetastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (nmCRPC), has been shown to increase metastasis-free survival among men with nmCRPC compared with placebo. This treatment has a novel chemical structure that may also have safety, tolerability, and efficacy advantages for men with nmCRPC. OBJECTIVE: To estimate the projected budget impact of including darolutamide on a U.S. payer formulary as a treatment option for men with nmCRPC. METHODS: A budget impact model was developed to evaluate darolutamide for nmCRPC for a hypothetical 1-million-member plan over a 5-year period. Costs (drug acquisition, drug administration, and treatment-related adverse events [AEs]) were estimated for 2 scenarios: with and without darolutamide treatment for nmCRPC. The budget impact of darolutamide was calculated as the difference in costs for these 2 scenarios. An analysis for high-risk nmCRPC also was conducted. The model included treatments recommended by the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (e.g., apalutamide and enzalutamide) and potential comparators that are used but are not specifically indicated for nmCRPC. All treatments were assumed to be administered in combination with a weighted average androgen deprivation therapy comparator (consisting of luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone [LHRH] agonists, LHRH antagonists, and first-generation antiandrogens). Market share estimates were derived from interviews with physicians treating men with nmCRPC. The model includes grade 3-4 AEs, and the rates were obtained from clinical trial data. Costs were taken from publicly available sources and varied in a one-way sensitivity analysis. RESULTS: For a plan with 1 million lives, there were approximately 90 incident cases of nmCRPC (46 high risk) each year, with 332 (109 high risk) treatment-eligible cases by year 5. Darolutamide's market share increased from 3.6% in year 1 to 18% in year 5. Given the utilization of other agents, introducing darolutamide along with other targeted therapies was predicted to increase the total budget by $158,640 ($0.0132 per member per month [PMPM]) in year 1, which decreased over time to a cost savings of $149,240 ($0.0124 PMPM) by year 5. The scenario with darolutamide showed reduced AE costs each year. Similar results were observed for the high-risk nmCRPC population. CONCLUSIONS: Adding darolutamide to a U.S. payer formulary for the treatment of nmCRPC can result in a manageable increase in the budget that is partly offset by AE costs in the first 4 years, followed by a cost savings by year 5. DISCLOSURES: This study was conducted by RTI Health Solutions under the direction of Bayer U.S. and was funded by Bayer U.S., which was involved in the design of the study; collection, analysis, and interpretation of the data; writing of the report; and the decision to submit the report for publication. Miles and Purser (and/or their institutions) are employees of RTI Health Solutions and received research funding from Bayer U.S. to develop the budget impact model. Appukkuttan and Farej are employees of Bayer U.S. Wen was an employee of Bayer U.S. at the time of the study. This study was presented as a poster at the AMCP Virtual Learning Event, April 20-24, 2020.

Purpose: Although more practical for use, the impact of ferric carboxymaltose (FCM) on the hospital budget is considerable, and intravenous iron sucrose complex (ISC) represents a cost-saving alternative for the management of iron deficiency anemia in patients during hospitalization. The Drug Committee decided to reserve FCM for day hospitalizations and contraindications to ISC, especially allergy. ISC was available for prescription for all other situations., Methods: The impact of a multifaceted intervention promoting a switch from FCM to ISC was evaluated using an interrupted time series model with segmented regression analysis. The standardized rate of the dispensing of FCM, ISC, and oral iron by the hospital pharmacy, as well as the rate of the dispensing of packed red blood cells and the number of biological iron status measurements, was analyzed before and after the intervention., Results: There was an immediate decrease in FCM consumption following the intervention, with a reduction of 88% (RR: 0.12 [CI 95% 0.10 to 0.15]). Conversely, there was a large increase in ISC use (RR: 5.1 [CI 95% 4.4 to 5.9]). We did not observe a prescription shift to packed red blood cells or oral iron after the intervention. The time series analysis showed the frequency of iron status testing to remain stable before and after. The direct savings for intravenous iron for 8 months were 187,417.54 €., Conclusion: Our intervention to lower the impact of intravenous iron therapy on the hospital budget was effective.

Importance: Teledermatology (TD) enables remote triage and management of dermatology patients. Previous analyses of TD systems have demonstrated improved access to care but an inconsistent fiscal impact., Objective: To compare the organizationwide cost of managing newly referred dermatology patients within a TD triage system vs a conventional dermatology care model at the Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center (hereafter referred to as the ZSFG) in California., Design, Setting, and Participants: A retrospective cost minimization analysis was conducted of 2098 patients referred to the dermatology department at the ZSFG between June 1 and December 31, 2017., Intervention: Implementation of the TD triage system in January 2015., Main Outcomes and Measures: The main outcome was mean cost to the health care organization to manage newly referred dermatology patients with or without TD triage. To estimate costs, decision-tree models were constructed to characterize possible care paths with TD triage and within a conventional dermatology care model. Costs associated with primary care visits, dermatology visits, and TD visits were then applied to the decision-tree models to estimate the mean cost of managing patients following each care path for 6 months. The mean cost for each visit type incorporated personnel costs, with the mean cost per TD consultation also incorporating software implementation and maintenance costs. Finally, ZSFG patient data were applied within the models to evaluate branch probabilities, enabling calculation of mean cost per patient within each model., Results: The analysis captured 2098 patients (1154 men [55.0%]; mean [SD] age, 53.4 [16.8] years), with 1099 (52.4%) having Medi-Cal insurance and 879 (41.9%) identifying as non-White. In the decision-tree model with TD triage, the mean (SD) cost per patient to the health care organization was $559.84 ($319.29). In the decision-tree model for conventional dermatology care, the mean (SD) cost per patient was $699.96 ($390.24). Therefore, the TD model demonstrated a statistically significant mean (SE) cost savings of $140.12 ($11.01) per patient. Given an annual dermatology referral volume of 3150 patients, the analysis estimates an annual savings of $441 378., Conclusions and Relevance: Implementation of a TD triage system within the dermatology department at the ZSFG was associated with cost savings, suggesting that managed health care settings may experience significant cost savings from using TD to triage and manage patients.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to compare the adherence, healthcare resource and cost implications of using Episenta® minitablets or Epilim® monolithic tablet in the treatment of epilepsy in children in England., Design: This is a retrospective analysis of healthcare administrative databases., Setting: The study analysed data collected from Primary Care (Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD)) and Secondary Care (Hospital Episode Statistics (HES)) in England, UK., Participants: Patients (stratified by age 0-12; 0-17 and 18+ years) with a diagnosis of epilepsy in receipt of a new prescription for Episenta® minitablets or Epilim® monolithic tablet from January 2012 to October 2017. Limited to those with a minimum of 12 months follow-up., Main Outcome Measures: Determining the impact of sodium valproate formulation on measures of treatment adherence and healthcare resource usage., Results: There were 793 patients in the dataset: 84 on Episenta® minitablets and 709 on Epilim® tablets. Measures of medication adherence were not significantly different between the minitablet formulation and the monolithic matrix tablet. However there was a greater annualised incidence rate of epilepsy related primary healthcare contacts in a paediatric population from the tablet formulation compared to those treated with minitablets (95% CI [-1.561,0.0152]) for those aged 0-12 and (95% CI [-1.3234,-0.0058]) for those aged 0-17. This is found despite a lower dose being used in the minitablet cohort (595 mg vs 945 mg for the tablet) for those aged 0-17 which indicates effective therapy at a lower dose using the minitablet compared to the monolithic tablet formulation., Conclusions: Minitablet formulations of sodium valproate (presented as granules in capsules or sachets) can provide better therapeutic outcomes and reduced associated healthcare resource costs compared to monolithic tablets in children and young people with epilepsy. The interpretation of this data is limited by the large difference in sample size between the two groups which needs additional investigation to generate matched data for future comparisons. Further work is required to understand why the Episenta® minitablets formulation generated better outcomes in paediatric populations., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: Negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) has been used because of its perceived advantages in reducing surgical site infections, wound complications, and the need for further surgery. The purpose of this study was to assess the infection rates, wound complications, length of stay, and financial burden associated with NPWT use in primary and revision total knee arthroplasty (TKA)., Methods: We performed a PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses) systematic review of the existing literature on using NPWT in primary and revision TKA. PubMed, Embase, Science Direct, and the Cochrane Library were utilized. The risk of bias was evaluated using the ROBINS-I (Risk Of Bias In Non-randomised Studies - of Interventions) tool, and the quality of evidence was evaluated using the GRADE (Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation) criteria., Results: Twelve articles that evaluated 1,403 primary TKAs and 279 revision TKAs were reviewed. NPWT significantly reduced complication rates in revision TKA. However, there was no significant difference in infection rates between NPWT and regular dressings in primary or revision TKA. NPWT use in primary TKA significantly increased the risk of blistering, although no increase in reoperations was noted. The analysis showed a possible reduction in length of stay associated with NPWT use for both primary and revision TKA, with overall health-care cost savings., Conclusions: Based on a meta-analysis of the existing literature, we do not recommend the routine use of NPWT. However, in high-risk revision TKA and selected primary TKA cases, NPWT reduced wound complications and may have health-care cost savings., Level of Evidence: Therapeutic Level III. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence., Competing Interests: Disclosure: The authors indicated that no external funding was received for any aspect of this work. On the Disclosure of Potential Conflicts of Interest forms, which are provided with the online version of the article, one or more of the authors checked “yes” to indicate that the author had a relevant financial relationship in the biomedical arena outside the submitted work (http://links.lww.com/JBJS/G269)., (Copyright © 2020 by The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, Incorporated.)

Objectives : Pubmed literature search show that the prescription of potentially inappropriate medications is a major concern in older hospitalized patients, both from a clinical and financial perspective. This study aims to identify factors associated with exposure and potentially inappropriate medication costs in older hospitalized patients and to assess the financial impact of substituting these medications with safer alternatives. Methods : We performed an observational cross-sectional study of all patients aged 75 years or older hospitalized in a university hospital (except geriatric wards) on a given day. Potentially inappropriate medications were identified using European and French guidelines. Results : A total of 365 patients were included. At least one potentially inappropriate medication was prescribed in 50.4% of these patients. This contributed 19.7% [16.1; 23.6] to the average cost of medication per patient. Substitution of these medications with recommended alternatives was cost saving: average incremental cost per patient: -3.97 € [-7.21; -1.58]. Both polypharmacy and type of ward providing care were associated with increased costs of potentially inappropriate medications. Conclusions : This study assessed the prevalence of potentially inappropriate medications in older hospitalized patients and established that their substitution by alternative medications provided a cost saving.

Objectives: Testing and treatment for hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection are highly effective, high-impact interventions. This article aims to estimate the cost-effectiveness of scaling up these interventions by scenarios, regions, and income groups., Methods: We modeled costs and impacts of hepatitis elimination in 67 low- and middle-income countries from 2016 to 2030. Costs included testing and treatment commodities, healthcare consultations, and future savings from cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinomas averted. We modeled disease progression to estimate disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) averted. We estimated incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs) by regions and World Bank income groups, according to 3 scenarios: flatline (status quo), progress (testing/treatment according to World Health Organization guidelines), and ambitious (elimination)., Results: Compared with no action, current levels of testing and treatment had an ICER of $807/DALY for HBV and -$62/DALY (cost-saving) for HCV. Scaling up to progress scenario, both interventions had ICERs less than the average gross domestic product/capita of countries (HBV: $532/DALY; HCV: $613/DALY). Scaling up from flatline to elimination led to higher ICERs across countries (HBV: $927/DALY; HCV: $2528/DALY, respectively) that remained lower than the average gross domestic product/capita. Sensitivity analysis indicated discount rates and commodity costs were main factors driving results., Conclusions: Scaling up testing and treatment for HBV and HCV infection as per World Health Organization guidelines is a cost-effective intervention. Elimination leads to a much larger impact though ICERs are higher. Price reduction strategies are needed to achieve elimination given the substantial budget impact at current commodity prices., (Copyright © 2020 World Health Organization. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: Traditional risk scores improved the definition of the initial therapeutic strategy in acute coronary syndrome (ACS), but they were not designed for predicting long-term individual risks and costs. In parallel, attempts to directly predict costs from clinical variables in ACS had limited success. Thus, novel approaches to predict cardiovascular risk and health expenditure are urgently needed. Our objectives were to predict the risk of major/minor adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) and estimate assistance-related costs., Methods: We used a 2-step approach that: (1) predicted outcomes with a common pathophysiological substrate (MACE) by using machine learning (ML) or logistic regression (LR) and compared with existing risk scores; (2) derived costs associated with noncardiovascular deaths, dialysis, ambulatory-care-sensitive-hospitalizations (ACSH), strokes, and MACE. With consecutive ACS individuals (n = 1089) from 2 cohorts, we trained in 80% of the population and tested in 20% using a 4-fold cross-validation framework. The 29-variable model included socioeconomic, clinical/lab, and coronarography variables. Individual costs were estimated based on cause-specific hospitalization from the Brazilian Health Ministry perspective., Results: After up to 12 years follow-up (mean = 3.3 ± 3.1; MACE = 169), the gradient-boosting machine model was superior to LR and reached an area under the curve (AUROC) of 0.891 [95% CI 0.846-0.921] (test set), outperforming the Syntax Score II (AUROC = 0.635 [95% CI 0.569-0.699]). Individuals classified as high risk (>90th percentile) presented increased HbA1c and LDL-C both at <24 hours post-ACS and 1-year follow-up. High-risk individuals required 33.5% of total costs and showed 4.96-fold (95% CI 3.71-5.48, P < .00001) greater per capita costs compared with low-risk individuals, mostly owing to avoidable costs (ACSH). This 2-step approach was more successful for finding individuals incurring high costs than predicting costs directly from clinical variables., Conclusion: ML methods predicted long-term risks and avoidable costs after ACS., (Copyright © 2020 ISPOR–The Professional Society for Health Economics and Outcomes Research. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: To estimate the effect of filgrastim-sndz market entry on patient out-of-pocket costs and claim payments for filgrastim products., Methods: This study used a single interrupted time series design with longitudinal, nationally representative, individual-level claims data from IBM MarketScan. Analyses included all outpatient and prescription claims for branded filgrastim (filgrastim and tbo-filgrastim) and biosimilar filgrastim (filgrastim-sndz) from January 1, 2014, to December 31, 2017. Outcomes of interest included changes in monthly claim payments and monthly patient out-of-pocket costs for filgrastim products., Results: In the baseline period (January 2014 to February 2016), insurers paid an average of $472.21 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 465.38-479.03) for 480 mcg of branded filgrastim, whereas patients paid an average of $49.26 (CI: 34.25-64.27). Filgrastim-sndz market entry was associated with a statistically significant and immediate 1-month decrease in insurer payment of $30.77 (95% CI: -40.59 to -20.94) and a significant decrease in monthly insurer payment trend of $3.10 per month (95% CI: -3.90 to -2.31) relative to baseline. Long-term changes in patient out-of-pocket costs were modest and restricted to beneficiaries enrolled in high cost sharing plans., Conclusions: Biosimilar filgrastim availability led to significant immediate and long-term decreases in claims payments for filgrastim products, supporting efforts to facilitate biosimilar adoption in the United States. Nevertheless, there were only slight changes in patient out-of-pocket costs, restricted to beneficiaries enrolled in high cost sharing plans, suggesting the importance of further work assessing the relationship between biosimilar availability and patient out-of-pocket costs., (Copyright © 2020 ISPOR–The Professional Society for Health Economics and Outcomes Research. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) is a global surgical qualityimprovement initiative. Little is known about the economic effects of implementing multiple ERAS guidelines in both the short and long term., Methods: We performed a return on investment (ROI) analysis of the implementation of multiple ERAS guidelines (for colorectal, pancreas, cystectomy, liver and gynecologic oncology procedures) across multiple sites (9 hospitals) in Alberta using 30-, 180- and 365-day time horizons. The effects of ERAS on health services utilization (length of stay of the primary admission, number of readmissions, length of stay of the readmissions, number of emergency department visits, number of outpatient clinic visits, number of specialist visits and number of general practitioner visits) were assessed by mixed-effect multilevel multivariate negative binomial regressions. Net benefits and ROI were estimated by a decision analytic modelling analysis. All costs were reported in 2019 Canadian dollars., Results: The net health system savings per patient ranged from $26.35 to $3606.44 and ROI ranged from 1.05 to 7.31, meaning that every dollar invested in ERAS brought $1.05 to $7.31 in return. Probabilities for ERAS to be cost-saving were from 86.5% to 99.9%. The effects of ERAS were found to be larger in the longer time horizons, indicating that if only the 30-day time horizon had been used, the benefits of ERAS would have been underestimated., Conclusion: These results demonstrated that ERAS multiguideline implementation was cost-saving in Alberta. To produce a better ROI, it is important to consider a broad range of health service utilizations, long-term impact, economies of scale, productive efficiency and allocative efficiency for sustainability, scale and spread of ERAS implementations., Competing Interests: G. Nelson is secretary of the ERAS Society. No other competing interests were declared., (© 2020 Joule Inc. or its licensors.)

Background: As the cost of health care increases in the US, focus has been placed upon efficiency, cost reduction, and containment of spending. Operating room costs play a significant role in this spending. We investigated whether surgeon education and universal preference cards can have an impact on reducing the disposable supply costs for common laparoscopic general surgery procedures., Methods: General surgeons at two institutions participated in an educational session about the costs of the operative supplies used to perform laparoscopic appendectomies and cholecystectomies. All the surgeons at one institution agreed upon a universal preference card, with other supplies opened only by request. At the other, no universal preference cards were created, and surgeons were free to modify their own existing preference cards. Case cost data for these procedures were collected for each institution pre- (July 2014-December 2014) and post-intervention (February 2015-November 2017)., Results: At the institution with an education only program, there was no statistically significant change in supply costs after the intervention. At the institution that intervened with the combined education and universal preference card program, there was a statistically significant supply cost decrease for these common laparoscopic procedures combined. This significant cost decrease persisted for each appendectomies and cholecystectomies when analyzed independently as well (p = 0.001 and p < 0.001 respectively)., Conclusions: In this study, surgeon education alone was not effective in reducing operating room disposable supply costs. Surgeon education, combined with the implementation of universal preference cards, significantly maintains reductions in operating room supply costs. As health care costs continue to increase in the US and internationally, universal preference cards can be an effective tool to contain cost for common laparoscopic general surgery procedures.

Background: Nonoperative management (NOM) of uncomplicated appendicitis has gained recognition as an alternative to surgery. In the largest published randomized trial (Appendicitis Acuta), patients received a 3-d hospital stay for intravenous antibiotics; however, cost implications for health care systems remain unknown. We hypothesized short stay protocols would be cost saving compared with a long stay protocol., Materials and Methods: We constructed a Markov model comparing the cost of three protocols for NOM of acute uncomplicated appendicitis: (1) long stay (3-d hospitalization), (2) short stay (1-d hospitalization), and (3) emergency department (ED) discharge. The long stay protocol was modeled on data from the APPAC trial. Model variables were abstracted from national database and literature review. One-way and two-way sensitivity analyses were performed to determine the impact of uncertainty on the model., Results: The long stay treatment protocol had a total 5-y projected cost of $10,735 per patient. The short stay treatment protocol costs $8026 per patient, and the ED discharge protocol costs $6,825, which was $2709 and $3910 less than the long stay protocol, respectively. One-way sensitivity analysis demonstrated that the relative risk of treatment failure with the short stay protocol needed to exceed 6.3 (absolute risk increase of 31%) and with the ED discharge protocol needed to exceed 8.75 (absolute risk increase of 45%) in order for the long stay protocol to become cost saving., Conclusions: Short duration hospitalization protocols to treat appendicitis nonoperatively with antibiotics are cost saving under almost all model scenarios. Future consideration of patient preferences and health-related quality of life will need to be made to determine if short stay treatment protocols are cost-effective., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: The objectives of this study were to review economic data on the use of closed system drug transfer devices (CSTDs) for preparing and administering hazardous drugs, and to evaluate the quality of data reporting as defined by the Consolidated Health Economic Evaluation Reporting Standards (CHEERS)., Methods: All references from a recent Cochrane review about CSTDs were evaluated for inclusion. A literature review was also conducted. Articles containing economic data about the use of CSTDs were retained for analysis. Two researchers independently graded the articles according to the 24-item CHEERS checklist., Results: Of the 138 articles identified initially, 12 were retained for analysis. Nine of these studies did not report acquisition costs or did not detail acquisition costs. Six studies reported economic benefits associated with the used of CSTDs, all related to extending the beyond-use date. The mean number of CHEERS criteria fulfilled by the included articles was 9.2 (SD 2.4)., Conclusions: CSTDs are costly to acquire. However, few studies have examined the economic impact of these devices, and the existing studies are incomplete. As a result, hospitals planning to implement these devices will be unable to make a sound economic evaluation. Robust economic evaluation of CSTDs is needed., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© European Association of Hospital Pharmacists 2020. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Introduction: Laparoscopic anti-reflux surgery is the standard surgical treatment for gastro-oesophageal reflux disease in patients for who long-term pharmacotherapy is intolerable or ineffective. Advances in anaesthesia and minimally invasive surgery have led to day case treatment being adopted by some centres. The objective of this study is to describe our day case pathway and peri- and postoperative outcomes., Materials and Methods: This is a single centre, retrospective case series review of a prospectively collected database from October 2014 to August 2019 performed in a tertiary centre for upper gastrointestinal surgery. Data collected included demographics, comorbidities, indications, complications, length of stay and readmission., Results: A total of 362 patients underwent laparoscopic anti-reflux surgery with or without hiatus hernia repair of up to 10cm, with day case rates of 59%. Unplanned admission following day surgery was 5.1% (13/225) and 30-day readmission was 2.2% (8/362); 90.6% of patients remained in hospital for less than 24 hours. There was one intraoperative complication and one patient required revisional surgery within 30 days. The rate of all postoperative complications was 1.38% (5/362) with one postoperative mortality., Discussion: The inclusion of larger hernias is unusual, as most studies limit size to 5cm or less. Our results show the safety and feasibility of the procedure even when applied to hiatus hernias up to 10cm. Success was multifactorial and based on standardisation of procedures and support from dedicated specialist nursing staff., Conclusion: Laparoscopic anti-reflux surgery can be performed safely as a day case procedure even in larger hiatus hernias, with a dedicated care pathway and specialist nurse practitioners to support it.

Policy Points Evidence suggests that bundled payment contracting can slow the growth of payer costs relative to fee-for-service contracting, although bundled payment models may not reduce absolute costs. Bundled payments may be more effective than fee-for-service payments in containing costs for certain medical conditions. For the most part, Medicare's bundled payment initiatives have not been associated with a worsening of quality in terms of readmissions, emergency department use, and mortality. Some evidence suggests a worsening of other quality measures for certain medical conditions. Bundled payment contracting involves trade-offs: Expanding a bundle's scope and duration may better contain costs, but a more comprehensive bundle may be less attractive to providers, reducing their willingness to accept it as an alternative to fee-for-service payment., Context: Bundled payments have been promoted as an alternative to fee-for-service payments that can mitigate the incentives for service volume under the fee-for-service model. As Medicare has gained experience with bundled payments, it has widened their scope and increased their duration. However, there have been few reviews of the empirical literature on the impact of Medicare's bundled payment programs on cost, resource use, utilization, and quality., Methods: We examined the history and features of 16 of Medicare's bundled payment programs involving hospital-initiated episodes of care and conducted a literature review of articles about those programs. Database and additional searches yielded 1,479 articles. We evaluate the studies' methodological quality and summarize the quantitative findings about Medicare expenditures and quality of care from 37 studies that used higher-quality research designs., Findings: Medicare's bundled payment initiatives have varied in their design features, such as episode scope and duration. Many initiatives were associated with little to no reduction in Medicare expenditures, unless large pricing discounts for providers were negotiated in advance. Initiatives that included post-acute care services were associated with lower expenditures for certain conditions. Hospitals may have been able to reduce internal production costs with help from physicians via gainsharing. Most initiatives were not associated with significant changes in quality of care, as measured by readmission and mortality rates. Of the significant changes in readmission rates, the results were mixed, showing increases and decreases associated with bundled payments. Some evidence suggested that worse patient outcomes were associated bundled payments, although most results were not statistically significant. Results on case-mix selection were mixed: Several initiatives were associated with reductions in episode severity, whereas others were associated with little change., Conclusions: Bundled payments for hospital-initiated episodes may be a good alternative to fee-for-service payments. Bundled payments can help slow the growth of payer spending, although they do not necessarily reduce absolute spending. They are associated with lower provider production costs, and there is no overwhelming evidence of compromised quality. However, designing a bundled payment contract that is attractive to both providers and payers proves to be a challenge., (© 2020 Milbank Memorial Fund.)

Policy Points Concerns have been raised about risk selection in the Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP). Specifically, turnover in accountable care organization (ACO) physicians and patient panels has led to concerns that ACOs may be earning shared-savings bonuses by selecting lower-risk patients or providers with lower-risk panels. We find no evidence that changes in ACO patient populations explain savings estimates from previous evaluations through 2015. We also find no evidence that ACOs systematically manipulated provider composition or billing to earn bonuses. The modest savings and lack of risk selection in the original MSSP design suggest opportunities to build on early progress. Recent program changes provide ACOs with more opportunity to select providers with lower-risk patients. Understanding the effect of these changes will be important for guiding future payment policy., Context: The Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP) establishes incentives for participating accountable care organizations (ACOs) to lower spending for their attributed fee-for-service Medicare patients. Turnover in ACO physicians and patient panels has raised concerns that ACOs may be earning shared-savings bonuses by selecting lower-risk patients or providers with lower-risk panels., Methods: We conducted three sets of analyses of Medicare claims data. First, we estimated overall MSSP savings through 2015 using a difference-in-differences approach and methods that eliminated selection bias from ACO program exit or changes in the practices or physicians included in ACO contracts. We then checked for residual risk selection at the patient level. Second, we reestimated savings with methods that address undetected risk selection but could introduce bias from other sources. These included patient fixed effects, baseline or prospective assignment, and area-level MSSP exposure to hold patient populations constant. Third, we tested for changes in provider composition or provider billing that may have contributed to bonuses, even if they were eliminated as sources of bias in the evaluation analyses., Findings: MSSP participation was associated with modest and increasing annual gross savings in the 2012-2013 entry cohorts of ACOs that reached $139 to $302 per patient by 2015. Savings in the 2014 entry cohort were small and not statistically significant. Robustness checks revealed no evidence of residual risk selection. Alternative methods to address risk selection produced results that were substantively consistent with our primary analysis but varied somewhat and were more sensitive to adjustment for patient characteristics, suggesting the introduction of bias from within-patient changes in time-varying characteristics. We found no evidence of ACO manipulation of provider composition or billing to inflate savings. Finally, larger savings for physician group ACOs were robust to consideration of differential changes in organizational structure among non-ACO providers (eg, from consolidation)., Conclusions: Participation in the original MSSP program was associated with modest savings and not with favorable risk selection. These findings suggest an opportunity to build on early progress. Understanding the effect of new opportunities and incentives for risk selection in the revamped MSSP will be important for guiding future program reforms., (© 2020 Milbank Memorial Fund.)

Background: Lantus, the reference insulin glargine used for the treatment of diabetes, lost its patent protection in 2014, opening the market to biosimilar competitors., Objective: First, to analyze the adoption rates of insulin glargine biosimilars in primary care in England and estimate the savings realized and missed, since an insulin glargine biosimilar was first used, and second, to assess potential variations in adoption rates across Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs)., Research Design and Methods: Data sets capturing information on all insulin glargine items prescribed by all general practitioners up to December 2018 were used. Total costs of insulin glargine and uptake rates of biosimilars were calculated. The real-world budget impact was estimated assuming the cost of reference insulin glargine for all items and comparing the total costs in this scenario with the total costs in the real world. The missed savings were estimated assuming the cost of biosimilars for all insulin glargine items. Choropleth maps were generated to assess potential variations in uptake across CCGs., Results: Insulin glargine biosimilars generated savings of £900,000 between October 2015 (time of first prescription) and December 2018. The missed savings amounted to £25.6 million in this period, indicating that only 3.42% of the potential savings were achieved. The analyses demonstrated a large level of variation in the uptake of insulin glargine biosimilars across CCGs, with market shares ranging from 0 to 53.3% (December 2018)., Conclusions: These results may encourage decision makers in England to promote the use of best-value treatments in primary care and to reevaluate variation across CCGs., (© 2020 by the American Diabetes Association.)

The objective of this analysis was to evaluate and report on the economic impact of implementing an integrated, quality, and operational improvement program on chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) care from acute through post-acute care settings. This initiative was established in a cohort of 12 hospitals in Alabama and sought to address COPD readmission through improved workflows pertaining to early diagnosis, efficient care transitions, and patient visibility across the entire care episode. Implementation of the initiative was influenced by lean principles, particularly cross-functional agreement of workflows to improve COPD care delivery and outcomes. A budget impact model was developed to calculate cost savings directly from objective data collected during this initiative. The model estimated payer annual savings over 5 years. Patients were classified for analysis based on whether or not they received noninvasive ventilation. Scenario analyses calculated savings for payers covering different COPD cohort sizes. The base case revealed annual per patient savings of $11,263 for patients treated through the quality improvement program versus traditional care. The model projected cumulative savings of $52 million over a 5-year period. Clinical incorporation of non-invasive ventilation (NIV) resulted in $20,535 annual savings per patient and projected $91 million over 5 years. We conclude that an integrated management program for COPD patients across the care continuum is associated with substantial cost savings and significantly reduced hospital readmissions., Competing Interests: I have read the journal's policy and the authors of this manuscript have the following competing interests: DDR and FWP received consulting fees for model development and manuscript preparation. They confirm that neither data analysis nor findings reported in this article were influenced by the supporting organization. DT and AB are employed by the funding organization. TLC is employed by and owns stock in the funding organization. They confirm that the funding organization had no influence on the data analysis nor findings reported in this article.

Introduction: To estimate cost savings from the Australian Poisons Information Centres (PIC) through reductions in unnecessary health resources following unintentional low toxicity poisonings. Methods: Two telephone surveys were conducted. The first to PIC callers over a one-week period about unintentional exposures where the callers' alternate course of action in the hypothetical situation in which the PIC did not exist was questioned. The second survey to determine the proportion of callers followed PIC advice. We estimated cost savings associated with instances where individuals acted on advice not to present to hospital, when they indicated they would have otherwise as well as savings from preventing unnecessarily utilisation of medical resources. Database records of unintentional poisonings from all Australian PICs for 2017 were used. Results: A total of 958 consecutive callers were surveyed. PIC advised 91% of callers to stay at home, remaining callers were referred to hospital (5%), to their GP (3%) or given other recommended management advice (1%). PIC advice was followed by 97.6% of callers. In PIC absence, 22% of callers who were advised to stay home would have presented to hospital (3% via ambulance), 8% would visit their General Practitioner (GP) and only 9% would stay at home. In 2017, PICs were called about 94,913 unintentional poisonings; and PICs generated at least $10.1 million in annual savings. Conclusion: In 2017, PICs provided at least a three-fold return on investment for every dollar invested, demonstrating that PICs are a highly cost effective service.

Background/aims: Registry-based trials have emerged as a potentially cost-saving study methodology. Early estimates of cost savings, however, conflated the benefits associated with registry utilisation and those associated with other aspects of pragmatic trial designs, which might not all be as broadly applicable. In this study, we sought to build a practical tool that investigators could use across disciplines to estimate the ranges of potential cost differences associated with implementing registry-based trials versus standard clinical trials., Methods: We built simulation Markov models to compare unique costs associated with data acquisition, cleaning, and linkage under a registry-based trial design versus a standard clinical trial. We conducted one-way, two-way, and probabilistic sensitivity analyses, varying study characteristics over broad ranges, to determine thresholds at which investigators might optimally select each trial design., Results: Registry-based trials were more cost effective than standard clinical trials 98.6% of the time. Data-related cost savings ranged from $4300 to $600,000 with variation in study characteristics. Cost differences were most reactive to the number of patients in a study, the number of data elements per patient available in a registry, and the speed with which research coordinators could manually abstract data. Registry incorporation resulted in cost savings when as few as 3768 independent data elements were available and when manual data abstraction took as little as 3.4 seconds per data field., Conclusions: Registries offer important resources for investigators. When available, their broad incorporation may help the scientific community reduce the costs of clinical investigation. We offer here a practical tool for investigators to assess potential costs savings.

Objective: High-value medical care is described as care that leads to excellent patient outcomes, high patient satisfaction, and efficient costs. Neurosurgical care in particular can be expensive for the hospital, as substantial costs are accrued during the operation and throughout the postoperative stay. The authors developed a "Safe Transitions Pathway" (STP) model in which select patients went to the postanesthesia care unit (PACU) and then the neuro-transitional care unit (NTCU) rather than being directly admitted to the neurosciences intensive care unit (ICU) following a craniotomy. They sought to evaluate the clinical and financial outcomes as well as the impact on the patient experience for patients who participated in the STP and bypassed the ICU level of care., Methods: Patients were enrolled during the 2018 fiscal year (FY18; July 1, 2017, through June 30, 2018). The electronic medical record was reviewed for clinical information and the hospital cost accounting record was reviewed for financial information. Nurses and patients were given a satisfaction survey to assess their respective impressions of the hospital stay and of the recovery pathway., Results: No patients who proceeded to the NTCU postoperatively were upgraded to the ICU level of care postoperatively. There were no deaths in the STP group, and no patients required a return to the operating room during their hospitalization (95% CI 0%-3.9%). There was a trend toward fewer 30-day readmissions in the STP patients than in the standard pathway patients (1.2% [95% CI 0.0%-6.8%] vs 5.1% [95% CI 2.5%-9.1%], p = 0.058). The mean number of ICU days saved per case was 1.20. The average postprocedure length of stay was reduced by 0.25 days for STP patients. Actual FY18 direct cost savings from 94 patients who went through the STP was $422,128., Conclusions: Length of stay, direct cost per case, and ICU days were significantly less after the adoption of the STP, and ICU bed utilization was freed for acute admissions and transfers. There were no substantial complications or adverse patient outcomes in the STP group.