WorldWideScience

Sample records for greater cost effectiveness

  1. Synergy effects of fluoxetine and variability in temperature lead to proportionally greater fitness costs in Daphnia: A multigenerational test.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barbosa, Miguel; Inocentes, Núrya; Soares, Amadeu M V M; Oliveira, Miguel

    2017-12-01

    Increased variability in water temperature is predicted to impose disproportionally greater fitness costs than mean increase in temperature. Additionally, water contaminants are currently a major source of human-induced stress likely to produce fitness costs. Global change models forecast an increase in these two human-induced stressors. Yet, in spite the growing interest in understanding how organisms respond to global change, the joint fitness effects of water pollution and increased variability in temperature remain unclear. Here, using a multigenerational design, we test the hypothesis that exposure to high concentrations of fluoxetine, a human medicine commonly found in freshwater systems, causes increased lifetime fitness costs, when associated with increased variability in temperature. Although fluoxetine and variability in temperature elicited some fitness cost when tested alone, when both stressors acted together the costs were disproportionally greater. The combined effect of fluoxetine and variability in temperature led to a reduction of 37% in lifetime reproductive success and a 17.9% decrease in population growth rate. Interestingly, fluoxetine and variability in temperature had no effect on the probability of survival. Freshwater systems are among the most imperilled ecosystems, often exposed to multiple human-induced stressors. Our results indicate that organisms face greater fitness risk when exposed to multiple stressors at the same time than when each stress acts alone. Our study highlights the importance of using a multi-generational approach to fully understand individual environmental tolerance and its responses to a global change scenario in aquatic systems. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  2. Cost-effectiveness and the socialization of health care.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Musgrove, P

    1995-01-01

    The more health care is socialized, the more cost-effectiveness is an appropriate criterion for expenditure. Utility-maximizing individuals, facing divisibility of health care purchases and declining marginal health gains, and complete information about probable health improvements, should buy health care according to its cost-effectiveness. Absent these features, individual health spending will not be cost-effective; and in any case, differences in personal utilities and risk aversion will not lead to the same ranking of health care interventions for everyone. Private insurance frees consumers from concern for cost, which undermines cost-effectiveness, but lets them emphasize effectiveness, which favors value for money. This is most important for costly and cost-effective interventions, especially for poor people. Cost-effectiveness is more appropriate and easier to achieve under second-party insurance. More complete socialization of health care, via public finance, can yield greater efficiency by making insurance compulsory. Cost-effectiveness is also more attractive when taxpayers subsidize others' care: needs (effectiveness) take precedence over wants (utility). The gain in effectiveness may be greater, and the welfare loss from Pareto non-optimality smaller, in poor countries than in rich ones.

  3. Greater healthcare utilization and costs among Black persons compared to White persons with aphasia in the North Carolina stroke belt.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ellis, Charles; Hardy, Rose Y; Lindrooth, Richard C

    2017-05-15

    To examine racial differences in healthcare utilization and costs for persons with aphasia (PWA) being treated in acute care hospitals in North Carolina (NC). NC Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project State Inpatient Database (HCUP-SID) data from 2011-2012 were analyzed to examine healthcare utilization and costs of care for stroke patients with aphasia. Analyses emphasized length of stay, charges and cost of general hospital services. Generalized linear models (GLM) were constructed to determine the impact of demographic characteristics, stroke/illness severity, and observed hospital characteristics on utilization and costs. Hospital fixed effects were included to yield within-hospital estimates of disparities. GLM models demonstrated that Blacks with aphasia experienced 1.9days longer lengths of stay compared to Whites with aphasia after controlling for demographic characteristics, 1.4days controlling for stroke/illness severity, 1.2days controlling for observed hospital characteristics, and ~1 extra day controlling for unobserved hospital characteristics. Similarly, Blacks accrued ~$2047 greater total costs compared to Whites after controlling for demographic characteristics, $1659 controlling for stroke/illness severity, $1338 controlling for observed hospital characteristics, and ~$1311 greater total costs after controlling for unobserved hospital characteristics. In the acute hospital setting, Blacks with aphasia utilize greater hospital services during longer hospitalizations and at substantially higher costs in the state of NC. A substantial portion of the adjusted difference was related to the hospital treating the patient. However, even after controlling for the hospital, the differences remained clinically and statistically significant. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  4. The Potential Cost-Effectiveness of Amblyopia Screening Programs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rein, David B.; Wittenborn, John S.; Zhang, Xinzhi; Song, Michael; Saaddine, Jinan B.

    2013-01-01

    Background To estimate the incremental cost-effectiveness of amblyopia screening at preschool and kindergarten, we compared the costs and benefits of 3 amblyopia screening scenarios to no screening and to each other: (1) acuity/stereopsis (A/S) screening at kindergarten, (2) A/S screening at preschool and kindergarten, and (3) photoscreening at preschool and A/S screening at kindergarten. Methods We programmed a probabilistic microsimulation model of amblyopia natural history and response to treatment with screening costs and outcomes estimated from 2 state programs. We calculated the probability that no screening and each of the 3 interventions were most cost-effective per incremental quality-adjusted life year (QALY) gained and case avoided. Results Assuming a minimal 0.01 utility loss from monocular vision loss, no screening was most cost-effective with a willingness to pay (WTP) of less than $16,000 per QALY gained. A/S screening at kindergarten alone was most cost-effective between a WTP of $17,000 and $21,000. A/S screening at preschool and kindergarten was most cost-effective between a WTP of $22,000 and $75,000, and photoscreening at preschool and A/S screening at kindergarten was most cost-effective at a WTP greater than $75,000. Cost-effectiveness substantially improved when assuming a greater utility loss. All scenarios were cost-effective when assuming a WTP of $10,500 per case of amblyopia cured. Conclusions All 3 screening interventions evaluated are likely to be considered cost-effective relative to many other potential public health programs. The choice of screening option depends on budgetary resources and the value placed on monocular vision loss prevention by funding agencies. PMID:21877675

  5. Cost-Effectiveness of Old and New Technologies for Aneuploidy Screening.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sinkey, Rachel G; Odibo, Anthony O

    2016-06-01

    Cost-effectiveness analyses allow assessment of whether marginal gains from new technology are worth increased costs. Several studies have examined cost-effectiveness of Down syndrome (DS) screening and found it to be cost-effective. Noninvasive prenatal screening also appears to be cost-effective among high-risk women with respect to DS screening, but not for the general population. Chromosomal microarray (CMA) is a genetic sequencing method superior to but more expensive than karyotype. In light of CMAs greater ability to detect genetic abnormalities, it is cost-effective when used for prenatal diagnosis of an anomalous fetus. This article covers methodology and salient issues of cost-effectiveness. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  6. Cost-effectiveness analysis of computer-based assessment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pauline Loewenberger

    2003-12-01

    Full Text Available The need for more cost-effective and pedagogically acceptable combinations of teaching and learning methods to sustain increasing student numbers means that the use of innovative methods, using technology, is accelerating. There is an expectation that economies of scale might provide greater cost-effectiveness whilst also enhancing student learning. The difficulties and complexities of these expectations are considered in this paper, which explores the challenges faced by those wishing to evaluate the costeffectiveness of computer-based assessment (CBA. The paper outlines the outcomes of a survey which attempted to gather information about the costs and benefits of CBA.

  7. Limited risk assessment and some cost/benefit considerations for greater confinement disposal compared to shallow land burial

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hunter, P.H.; Lester, D.H.; Robertson, L.D.; Spaeth, M.E.; Stoddard, J.A.; Dickman, P.T.

    1984-09-01

    A limited risk assessment and some cost/benefit considerations of greater confinement disposal (GCD) compared to shallow land burial (SLB) are presented. This study is limited to an analysis of the postclosure phase of hypothetical GCD and SLB facilities. Selected release scenarios are used which bound the range of risks to a maximally exposed individual and a hypothetical population. Based on the scenario assessments, GCD had a significant risk advantage over SLB for normal exposure pathways at both humid and arid sites, particularly for the human intrusion scenario. Since GCD costs are somewhat higher than SLB, it is necessary to weigh the higher costs of GCD against the higher risks of SLB. In this regard, GCD should be pursued as an alternative to SLB for certain types of low-level waste, and as an alternative to processing for wastes requiring improved stabilization or higher integrity packaging to be compatible with SLB. There are two reasons for this conclusion. First, GCD might diminish public apprehension regarding the disposal of wastes perceived to be too hazardous for SLB. Second, GCD may be a relatively cost-effective alternative to various stabilization and packaging schemes required to meet 10 CFR 61 near-surface requirements as well as being a cost-effective alternative to deep geologic disposal. Radionuclide transport through the biosphere and resultant dose consequences were determined using the RADTRAN radionuclide transport code. 19 references, 4 figures, 5 tables

  8. Towards Greater Harmonisation of Decommissioning Cost Estimates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    O'Sullivan, Patrick; ); Laraia, Michele; ); LaGuardia, Thomas S.

    2010-01-01

    The NEA Decommissioning Cost Estimation Group (DCEG), in collaboration with the IAEA Waste Technology Section and the EC Directorate-General for Energy and Transport, has recently studied cost estimation practices in 12 countries - Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States. Its findings are to be published in an OECD/NEA report entitled Cost Estimation for Decommissioning: An International Overview of Cost Elements, Estimation Practices and Reporting Requirements. This booklet highlights the findings contained in the full report. (authors)

  9. How rebates, copayments, and administration costs affect the cost-effectiveness of osteoporosis therapies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ferko, Nicole C; Borisova, Natalie; Airia, Parisa; Grima, Daniel T; Thompson, Melissa F

    2012-11-01

    Because of rising drug expenditures, cost considerations have become essential, necessitating the requirement for cost-effectiveness analyses for managed care organizations (MCOs). The study objective is to examine the impact of various drug-cost components, in addition to wholesale acquisition cost (WAC), on the cost-effectiveness of osteoporosis therapies. A Markov model of osteoporosis was used to exemplify different drug cost scenarios. We examined the effect of varying rebates for oral bisphosphonates--risedronate and ibandronate--as well as considering the impact of varying copayments and administration costs for intravenous zoledronate. The population modeled was 1,000 American women, > or = 50 years with osteoporosis. Patients were followed for 1 year to reflect an annual budget review of formularies by MCOs. The cost of therapy was based on an adjusted WAC, and is referred to as net drug cost. The total annual cost incurred by an MCO for each drug regimen was calculated using the net drug cost and fracture cost. We estimated cost on a quality adjusted life year (QALY) basis. When considering different rebates, results for risedronate versus ibandronate vary from cost-savings (i.e., costs less and more effective) to approximately $70,000 per QALY. With no risedronate rebate, an ibandronate rebate of approximately 65% is required before cost per QALY surpasses $50,000. With rebates greater than 25% for risedronate, irrespective of ibandronate rebates, results become cost-saving. Results also showed the magnitude of cost savings to the MCO varied by as much as 65% when considering no administration cost and the highest coinsurance rate for zoledronate. Our study showed that cost-effectiveness varies considerably when factors in addition to the WAC are considered. This paper provides recommendations for pharmaceutical manufacturers and MCOs when developing and interpreting such analyses.

  10. Impact of generic alendronate cost on the cost-effectiveness of osteoporosis screening and treatment.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Smita Nayak

    Full Text Available Since alendronate became available in generic form in the Unites States in 2008, its price has been decreasing. The objective of this study was to investigate the impact of alendronate cost on the cost-effectiveness of osteoporosis screening and treatment in postmenopausal women.Microsimulation cost-effectiveness model of osteoporosis screening and treatment for U.S. women age 65 and older. We assumed screening initiation at age 65 with central dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA, and alendronate treatment for individuals with osteoporosis; with a comparator of "no screening" and treatment only after fracture occurrence. We evaluated annual alendronate costs of $20 through $800; outcome measures included fractures; nursing home admission; medication adverse events; death; costs; quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs; and incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs in 2010 U.S. dollars per QALY gained. A lifetime time horizon was used, and direct costs were included. Base-case and sensitivity analyses were performed.Base-case analysis results showed that at annual alendronate costs of $200 or less, osteoporosis screening followed by treatment was cost-saving, resulting in lower total costs than no screening as well as more QALYs (10.6 additional quality-adjusted life-days. When assuming alendronate costs of $400 through $800, screening and treatment resulted in greater lifetime costs than no screening but was highly cost-effective, with ICERs ranging from $714 per QALY gained through $13,902 per QALY gained. Probabilistic sensitivity analyses revealed that the cost-effectiveness of osteoporosis screening followed by alendronate treatment was robust to joint input parameter estimate variation at a willingness-to-pay threshold of $50,000/QALY at all alendronate costs evaluated.Osteoporosis screening followed by alendronate treatment is effective and highly cost-effective for postmenopausal women across a range of alendronate costs, and may be cost

  11. External costs of nuclear: Greater or less than the alternatives?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rabl, Ari; Rabl, Veronika A.

    2013-01-01

    Since Fukushima many are calling for a shutdown of nuclear power plants. To see whether such a shutdown would reduce the risks for health and environment, the external costs of nuclear electricity are compared with alternatives that could replace it. The frequency of catastrophic nuclear accidents is based on the historical record, about one in 25 years for the plants built to date, an order of magnitude higher than the safety goals of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Impacts similar to Chernobyl and Fukushima are assumed to estimate the cost. A detailed comparison is presented with wind as alternative with the lowest external cost. The variability of wind necessitates augmentation by other sources, primarily fossil fuels, because storage at the required scale is in most regions too expensive. The external costs of natural gas combined cycle are taken as 0.6 €cent/kWh due to health effects of air pollution and 1.25 €cent/kWh due to greenhouse gases (at 25€/t CO 2 eq ) for the central estimate, but a wide range of different parameters is also considered, both for nuclear and for the alternatives. Although the central estimate of external costs of the wind-based alternative is higher than that of nuclear, the uncertainty ranges overlap. - Highlights: ► The external costs of nuclear electricity are compared with the alternatives. ► Frequency and cost of nuclear accidents based on Chernobyl and Fukushima. ► Detailed comparison with wind as alternative with the lowest external costs. ► High external cost of wind because of natural gas backup (storage too limited). ► External costs of wind higher than nuclear but uncertainty ranges overlap

  12. Cost-effectiveness of private umbilical cord blood banking.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kaimal, Anjali J; Smith, Catherine C; Laros, Russell K; Caughey, Aaron B; Cheng, Yvonne W

    2009-10-01

    To investigate the cost-effectiveness of private umbilical cord blood banking. A decision-analytic model was designed comparing private umbilical cord blood banking with no umbilical cord blood banking. Baseline assumptions included a cost of $3,620 for umbilical cord blood banking and storage for 20 years, a 0.04% chance of requiring an autologous stem cell transplant, a 0.07% chance of a sibling requiring an allogenic stem cell transplant, and a 50% reduction in risk of graft-versus-host disease if a sibling uses banked umbilical cord blood. Private cord blood banking is not cost-effective because it cost an additional $1,374,246 per life-year gained. In sensitivity analysis, if the cost of umbilical cord blood banking is less than $262 or the likelihood of a child needing a stem cell transplant is greater than 1 in 110, private umbilical cord blood banking becomes cost-effective. Currently, private umbilical cord blood banking is cost-effective only for children with a very high likelihood of needing a stem cell transplant. Patients considering private blood banking should be informed of the remote likelihood that a unit will be used for a child or another family member. III.

  13. [Cost-Effectiveness and Cost-Utility Analyses of Antireflux Medicine].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gockel, Ines; Lange, Undine Gabriele; Schürmann, Olaf; Jansen-Winkeln, Boris; Sibbel, Rainer; Lyros, Orestis; von Dercks, Nikolaus

    2018-04-12

    Laparoscopic antireflux surgery and medical therapy with proton pump inhibitors are gold standards of gastroesophageal reflux treatment. On account of limited resources and increasing healthcare needs and costs, in this analysis, not only optimal medical results, but also superiority in health economics of these 2 methods are evaluated. We performed an electronic literature survey in MEDLINE, PubMed, Cochrane Library, ISRCTN (International Standard Randomization Controlled Trial Number) as well as in the NHS Economic Evaluation Database, including studies published until 1/2017. Only studies considering the effect size of QALY (Quality-Adjusted Life Years) (with respect to different quality of life-scores) as primary outcome comparing laparoscopic fundoplication and medical therapy were included. Criteria of comparison were ICER (Incremental Cost-Effectiveness Ratio) and ICUR (Incremental Cost-Utility Ratio). Superiority of the respective treatment option for each publication was worked out. In total, 18 comparative studies were identified in the current literature with respect to above-mentioned search terms, qualifying for the defined inclusion criteria. Six studies were finally selected for analyses. Out of 6 publications, 3 showed superiority of laparoscopic fundoplication over long-term medical management based on current cost-effectiveness data. Limitations were related to different time intervals, levels of evidence of studies and underlying resources/costs of analyses, healthcare systems and applied quality of life instruments. Future prospective, randomized trials should examine this comparison in greater detail. Additionally, there is a large potential for further research in the health economics assessment of early diagnosis and prevention measures of reflux disease and Barrett's esophagus/carcinoma. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

  14. Effect of patient's life expectancy on the cost-effectiveness of treatment for ocular hypertension.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kymes, Steven M; Plotzke, Michael R; Kass, Michael A; Boland, Michael V; Gordon, Mae O

    2010-05-01

    To assess the influence of expected life span on the cost-effectiveness of treating ocular hypertension to prevent primary open-angle glaucoma. We used a Markov simulation model to estimate the cost and benefit of ocular hypertension treatment over a person's remaining life. We examined the influence of age on the cost-effectiveness decision in 2 ways: (1) by evaluating specific age cohorts to assess the influence of age at the initiation of treatment; and (2) by evaluating the influence of a specific life span. At a willingness to pay $50,000/quality-adjusted life year to $100,000/quality-adjusted life year, treatment of people with a 2% or greater annual risk of developing glaucoma was cost-effective for people aged 45 years with a life expectancy of at least 18 remaining years. However, to be cost-effective, a person aged 55 years must have a life expectancy of 21 remaining years and someone aged 65 years must have a life expectancy of 23 remaining years. A person with ocular hypertension must have a life expectancy of at least 18 remaining years to justify treatment at a threshold of a 2% or greater annual risk of developing glaucoma. Persons at higher levels of risk require a life expectancy of 7 to 10 additional years to justify treatment.

  15. Cost-effectiveness of SHINE: A Telephone Translation of the Diabetes Prevention Program

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Christopher S. Hollenbeak

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Background The Support, Health Information, Nutrition, and Exercise (SHINE trial recently showed that a telephone adaptation of the Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP lifestyle intervention was effective in reducing weight among patients with metabolic syndrome. The aim of this study is to determine whether a conference call (CC adaptation was cost effective relative to an individual call (IC adaptation of the DPP lifestyle intervention in the primary care setting. Methods We performed a stochastic cost-effectiveness analysis alongside a clinical trial comparing two telephone adaptations of the DPP lifestyle intervention. The primary outcomes were incremental cost-effectiveness ratios estimated for weight loss, body mass index (BMI, waist circumference, and quality-adjusted life years (QALYs. Costs were estimated from the perspective of society and included direct medical costs, indirect costs, and intervention costs. Results After one year, participants receiving the CC intervention accumulated fewer costs ($2,831 vs. $2,933 than the IC group, lost more weight (6.2 kg vs. 5.1 kg, had greater reduction in BMI (2.1 vs. 1.9, and had greater reduction in waist circumference (6.5 cm vs. 5.9 cm. However, participants in the CC group had fewer QALYs than those in the IC group (0.635 vs. 0.646. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio for CC vs. IC was $9,250/QALY, with a 48% probability of being cost-effective at a willingness-to-pay of $100,000/QALY. Conclusions CC delivery of the DPP was cost effective relative to IC delivery in the first year in terms of cost per clinical measure (weight lost, BMI, and waist circumference but not in terms of cost per QALY, most likely because of the short time horizon.

  16. [Cost effectiveness of workplace smoking policies].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Raaijmakers, Tamara; van den Borne, Inge

    2003-01-01

    This study reviews the motivations of companies to set out a policy for controlling smoking, the economic benefits for the company resulting from such a policy and the costs, broken down by European Union countries. The literature on the costs of implementing a policy related to smoking at the workplace is reviewed. The main objective of policies related to smoking at the workplace is that of safeguarding employees from environmental tobacco smoke. Other reasons are cutting costs, improving the company image, and reducing absenteeism, occupational accidents, internal quarrels and extra costs due to cigarette smoking, protection against environmental tobacco smoke does not entail any higher costs for companies, and economic advantages are visible. The benefits are by far greater than the costs involved, particularly on a long-range basis, and seem to be greater when smoking at the workplace is completely prohibited and no smoking areas are set.

  17. City-scale analysis of water-related energy identifies more cost-effective solutions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lam, Ka Leung; Kenway, Steven J; Lant, Paul A

    2017-02-01

    Energy and greenhouse gas management in urban water systems typically focus on optimising within the direct system boundary of water utilities that covers the centralised water supply and wastewater treatment systems, despite a greater energy influence by the water end use. This work develops a cost curve of water-related energy management options from a city perspective for a hypothetical Australian city. It is compared with that from the water utility perspective. The curves are based on 18 water-related energy management options that have been implemented or evaluated in Australia. In the studied scenario, the cost-effective energy saving potential from a city perspective (292 GWh/year) is far more significant than that from a utility perspective (65 GWh/year). In some cases, for similar capital cost, if regional water planners invested in end use options instead of utility options, a greater energy saving potential at a greater cost-effectiveness could be achieved in urban water systems. For example, upgrading a wastewater treatment plant for biogas recovery at a capital cost of $27.2 million would save 31 GWh/year with a marginal cost saving of $63/MWh, while solar hot water system rebates at a cost of $28.6 million would save 67 GWh/year with a marginal cost saving of $111/MWh. Options related to hot water use such as water-efficient shower heads, water-efficient clothes washers and solar hot water system rebates are among the most cost-effective city-scale opportunities. This study demonstrates the use of cost curves to compare both utility and end use options in a consistent framework. It also illustrates that focusing solely on managing the energy use within the utility would miss substantial non-utility water-related energy saving opportunities. There is a need to broaden the conventional scope of cost curve analysis to include water-related energy and greenhouse gas at the water end use, and to value their management from a city perspective. This

  18. Effects of category-specific costs on neural systems for perceptual decision-making

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Fleming, Stephen M; Whiteley, Louise Emma; Hulme, Oliver James

    2010-01-01

    Perceptual judgments are often biased by prospective losses, leading to changes in decision criteria. Little is known about how and where sensory evidence and cost information interact in the brain to influence perceptual categorization. Here we show that prospective losses systematically bias...... functions enact a particular task set that is communicated to visual regions. Across subjects, greater shifts in decision criteria were associated with greater activation of the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC). Our results support a hypothesis that costs bias an intermediate representation between...... perception and action, expressed via general effects on frontal cortex, and selective effects on extrastriate cortex. These findings indicate that asymmetric costs may affect a neural implementation of perceptual decision making in a similar manner to changes in category expectation, constituting a step...

  19. Cost-effectiveness of sequenced treatment of rheumatoid arthritis with targeted immune modulators.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jansen, Jeroen P; Incerti, Devin; Mutebi, Alex; Peneva, Desi; MacEwan, Joanna P; Stolshek, Bradley; Kaur, Primal; Gharaibeh, Mahdi; Strand, Vibeke

    2017-07-01

    To determine the cost-effectiveness of treatment sequences of biologic disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs or Janus kinase/STAT pathway inhibitors (collectively referred to as bDMARDs) vs conventional DMARDs (cDMARDs) from the US societal perspective for treatment of patients with moderately to severely active rheumatoid arthritis (RA) with inadequate responses to cDMARDs. An individual patient simulation model was developed that assesses the impact of treatments on disease based on clinical trial data and real-world evidence. Treatment strategies included sequences starting with etanercept, adalimumab, certolizumab, or abatacept. Each of these treatment strategies was compared with cDMARDs. Incremental cost, incremental quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs), and incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs) were calculated for each treatment sequence relative to cDMARDs. The cost-effectiveness of each strategy was determined using a US willingness-to-pay (WTP) threshold of $150,000/QALY. For the base-case scenario, bDMARD treatment sequences were associated with greater treatment benefit (i.e. more QALYs), lower lost productivity costs, and greater treatment-related costs than cDMARDs. The expected ICERs for bDMARD sequences ranged from ∼$126,000 to $140,000 per QALY gained, which is below the US-specific WTP. Alternative scenarios examining the effects of homogeneous patients, dose increases, increased costs of hospitalization for severely physically impaired patients, and a lower baseline Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ) Disability Index score resulted in similar ICERs. bDMARD treatment sequences are cost-effective from a US societal perspective.

  20. Cost-effectiveness of external cephalic version for term breech presentation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tan, Jonathan M; Macario, Alex; Carvalho, Brendan; Druzin, Maurice L; El-Sayed, Yasser Y

    2010-01-21

    External cephalic version (ECV) is recommended by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists to convert a breech fetus to vertex position and reduce the need for cesarean delivery. The goal of this study was to determine the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio, from society's perspective, of ECV compared to scheduled cesarean for term breech presentation. A computer-based decision model (TreeAge Pro 2008, Tree Age Software, Inc.) was developed for a hypothetical base case parturient presenting with a term singleton breech fetus with no contraindications for vaginal delivery. The model incorporated actual hospital costs (e.g., $8,023 for cesarean and $5,581 for vaginal delivery), utilities to quantify health-related quality of life, and probabilities based on analysis of published literature of successful ECV trial, spontaneous reversion, mode of delivery, and need for unanticipated emergency cesarean delivery. The primary endpoint was the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio in dollars per quality-adjusted year of life gained. A threshold of $50,000 per quality-adjusted life-years (QALY) was used to determine cost-effectiveness. The incremental cost-effectiveness of ECV, assuming a baseline 58% success rate, equaled $7,900/QALY. If the estimated probability of successful ECV is less than 32%, then ECV costs more to society and has poorer QALYs for the patient. However, as the probability of successful ECV was between 32% and 63%, ECV cost more than cesarean delivery but with greater associated QALY such that the cost-effectiveness ratio was less than $50,000/QALY. If the probability of successful ECV was greater than 63%, the computer modeling indicated that a trial of ECV is less costly and with better QALYs than a scheduled cesarean. The cost-effectiveness of a trial of ECV is most sensitive to its probability of success, and not to the probabilities of a cesarean after ECV, spontaneous reversion to breech, successful second ECV trial, or adverse

  1. Cost-effectiveness of external cephalic version for term breech presentation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Carvalho Brendan

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background External cephalic version (ECV is recommended by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists to convert a breech fetus to vertex position and reduce the need for cesarean delivery. The goal of this study was to determine the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio, from society's perspective, of ECV compared to scheduled cesarean for term breech presentation. Methods A computer-based decision model (TreeAge Pro 2008, Tree Age Software, Inc. was developed for a hypothetical base case parturient presenting with a term singleton breech fetus with no contraindications for vaginal delivery. The model incorporated actual hospital costs (e.g., $8,023 for cesarean and $5,581 for vaginal delivery, utilities to quantify health-related quality of life, and probabilities based on analysis of published literature of successful ECV trial, spontaneous reversion, mode of delivery, and need for unanticipated emergency cesarean delivery. The primary endpoint was the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio in dollars per quality-adjusted year of life gained. A threshold of $50,000 per quality-adjusted life-years (QALY was used to determine cost-effectiveness. Results The incremental cost-effectiveness of ECV, assuming a baseline 58% success rate, equaled $7,900/QALY. If the estimated probability of successful ECV is less than 32%, then ECV costs more to society and has poorer QALYs for the patient. However, as the probability of successful ECV was between 32% and 63%, ECV cost more than cesarean delivery but with greater associated QALY such that the cost-effectiveness ratio was less than $50,000/QALY. If the probability of successful ECV was greater than 63%, the computer modeling indicated that a trial of ECV is less costly and with better QALYs than a scheduled cesarean. The cost-effectiveness of a trial of ECV is most sensitive to its probability of success, and not to the probabilities of a cesarean after ECV, spontaneous reversion

  2. Training effectiveness vs. cost effectiveness: The next millennium challenge

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Coe, Richard P.

    2003-01-01

    With the advent of the new millennium and energy deregulation, organizations will be challenged to be cost competitive and profitable. Deregulation in the US energy industry will force utilities and, more specifically, commercial nuclear power production to unprecedented cost control measures. It will also renew the fires of debate about costs vs. safety. With personnel costs being the single largest expenditure for most organizations management will be faced with constant dilemmas of competition for scarce resources. Salaries, benefits and training costs will be under greater scrutiny. Training resources and programs will face increased pressure to be job related, based on conservative requirements and more cost effective than in the past. For nearly two decades the US National Academy for Nuclear Training (NANT) has developed and used industry-wide accreditation and evaluation standards based on the Systematic Approach to Training (SAT). This process assures that existing and emerging technical training is constantly reviewed and evaluated against standardized criteria to assure job relatedness and enhanced job performance. The process also requires management to approve, actively participate in and support the training of NPP personnel. Instructors must be highly skilled and well trained in the SAT process and various instructional strategies. The SAT process is grounded in five interlocking keystone steps; Analysis - Design - Development - Implementation - Evaluation (ADDIE). Evaluation of training is often said to be the most crucial and most difficult step. Here is where an organization determines if the training is effective and meeting the legitimate needs of all of the stakeholders. This QA/QC aspect of training must be an ongoing process involving management, instructors and the students. It is only through the discipline of an SAT based evaluation process that an organization can truly determine if the training is efficient, effective, cost effective and

  3. Cost-effectiveness of silicone and alginate impressions for complete dentures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hulme, C; Yu, G; Browne, C; O'Dwyer, J; Craddock, H; Brown, S; Gray, J; Pavitt, S; Fernandez, C; Godfrey, M; Dukanovic, G; Brunton, P; Hyde, T P

    2014-08-01

    The aim of this study was to assess the cost effectiveness of silicone and alginate impressions for complete dentures. Cost effectiveness analyses were undertaken alongside a UK single centre, double blind, controlled, crossover clinical trial. Taking the perspective of the healthcare sector, effectiveness is measured using the EuroQol (EQ-5D-3L) which provides a single index value for health status that may be combined with time to produce quality adjusted life years (QALYs); and Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP-EDENT). Incremental cost effectiveness ratios are presented representing the additional cost per one unit gained. Mean cost was higher in the silicone impression group (£388.57 vs. £363.18). Negligible between-group differences were observed in QALY gains; the silicone group had greater mean OHIP-EDENT gains. The additional cost using silicone was £3.41 per change of one point in the OHIP-EDENT. The silicone group was more costly, driven by the cost of materials. Changes in the EQ-5D and QALY gains over time and between arms were not statistically significant. Change in OHIP-EDENT score showed greater improvement in the silicone group and the difference between arms was statistically significant. Given negligible QALY gains and low level of resource use, results must be treated with caution. It is difficult to make robust claims about the comparative cost-effectiveness. Silicone impressions for complete dentures improve patients' quality of life (OHIP-EDENT score). The extra cost of silicone impressions is £30 per patient. Dentists, patients and health care funders need to consider the clinical and financial value of silicone impressions. Different patients, different dentists, different health funders will have individual perceptions and judgements. ISRCTN01528038. NIHR-RfPB grant PB-PG-0408-16300. This article forms part of a project for which the author (TPH) won the Senior Clinical Unilever Hatton Award of the International Assocation for Dental

  4. Cost-effectiveness of increasing cervical cancer screening coverage in the Middle East: An example from Lebanon.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sharma, Monisha; Seoud, Muhieddine; Kim, Jane J

    2017-01-23

    Most cervical cancer (CC) cases in Lebanon are detected at later stages and associated with high mortality. There is no national organized CC screening program so screening is opportunistic and limited to women who can pay out-of-pocket. Therefore, a small percentage of women receive repeated screenings while most are under-or never screened. We evaluated the cost-effectiveness of increasing screening coverage and extending intervals. We used an individual-based Monte Carlo model simulating HPV and CC natural history and screening. We calibrated the model to epidemiological data from Lebanon, including CC incidence and HPV type distribution. We evaluated cytology and HPV DNA screening for women aged 25-65years, varying coverage from 20 to 70% and frequency from 1 to 5years. At 20% coverage, annual cytologic screening reduced lifetime CC risk by 14% and had an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of I$80,670/year of life saved (YLS), far exceeding Lebanon's gross domestic product (GDP) per capita (I$17,460), a commonly cited cost-effectiveness threshold. By comparison, increasing cytologic screening coverage to 50% and extending screening intervals to 3 and 5years provided greater CC reduction (26.1% and 21.4, respectively) at lower costs compared to 20% coverage with annual screening. Screening every 5years with HPV DNA testing at 50% coverage provided greater CC reductions than cytology at the same frequency (23.4%) and was cost-effective assuming a cost of I$18 per HPV test administered (I$12,210/YLS); HPV DNA testing every 4years at 50% coverage was also cost-effective at the same cost per test (I$16,340). Increasing coverage of annual cytology was not found to be cost-effective. Current practice of repeated cytology in a small percentage of women is inefficient. Increasing coverage to 50% with extended screening intervals provides greater health benefits at a reasonable cost and can more equitably distribute health gains. Novel HPV DNA strategies offer greater

  5. Deregulation and Nuclear Training: Cost Effective Alternatives

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Richard P. Coe; Patricia A. Lake

    2000-01-01

    Training is crucial to the success of any organization. It is also expensive, with some estimates exceeding $50 billion annually spent on training by U.S. corporations. Nuclear training, like that of many other highly technical organizations, is both crucial and costly. It is unlikely that the amount of training can be significantly reduced. If anything, current trends indicate that training needs will probably increase as the industry and workforce ages and changes. With the advent of energy deregulation in the United States, greater pressures will surface to make the costs of energy more cost-competitive. This in turn will drive businesses to more closely examine existing costs and find ways to do things in a more cost-effective way. The commercial nuclear industry will be no exception, and nuclear training will be equally affected. It is time for nuclear training and indeed the entire nuclear industry to begin using more aggressive techniques to reduce costs. This includes the need for nuclear training to find alternatives to traditional methods for the delivery of cost-effective high-quality training that meets regulatory requirements and produces well-qualified personnel capable of working in an efficient and safe manner. Computer-based and/or Web-based training are leading emerging technologies

  6. Controlling Healthcare Costs: Just Cost Effectiveness or "Just" Cost Effectiveness?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fleck, Leonard M

    2018-04-01

    Meeting healthcare needs is a matter of social justice. Healthcare needs are virtually limitless; however, resources, such as money, for meeting those needs, are limited. How then should we (just and caring citizens and policymakers in such a society) decide which needs must be met as a matter of justice with those limited resources? One reasonable response would be that we should use cost effectiveness as our primary criterion for making those choices. This article argues instead that cost-effectiveness considerations must be constrained by considerations of healthcare justice. The goal of this article will be to provide a preliminary account of how we might distinguish just from unjust or insufficiently just applications of cost-effectiveness analysis to some healthcare rationing problems; specifically, problems related to extraordinarily expensive targeted cancer therapies. Unconstrained compassionate appeals for resources for the medically least well-off cancer patients will be neither just nor cost effective.

  7. Costs and cost-effectiveness of periviable care.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Caughey, Aaron B; Burchfield, David J

    2014-02-01

    With increasing concerns regarding rapidly expanding healthcare costs, cost-effectiveness analysis allows assessment of whether marginal gains from new technology are worth the increased costs. Particular methodologic issues related to cost and cost-effectiveness analysis in the area of neonatal and periviable care include how costs are estimated, such as the use of charges and whether long-term costs are included; the challenges of measuring utilities; and whether to use a maternal, neonatal, or dual perspective in such analyses. A number of studies over the past three decades have examined the costs and the cost-effectiveness of neonatal and periviable care. Broadly, while neonatal care is costly, it is also cost effective as it produces both life-years and quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs). However, as the gestational age of the neonate decreases, the costs increase and the cost-effectiveness threshold is harder to achieve. In the periviable range of gestational age (22-24 weeks of gestation), whether the care is cost effective is questionable and is dependent on the perspective. Understanding the methodology and salient issues of cost-effectiveness analysis is critical for researchers, editors, and clinicians to accurately interpret results of the growing body of cost-effectiveness studies related to the care of periviable pregnancies and neonates. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  8. Pressure relieving support surfaces (PRESSURE) trial: cost effectiveness analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Iglesias, Cynthia; Nixon, Jane; Cranny, Gillian; Nelson, E Andrea; Hawkins, Kim; Phillips, Angela; Torgerson, David; Mason, Su; Cullum, Nicky

    2006-06-17

    To assess the cost effectiveness of alternating pressure mattresses compared with alternating pressure overlays for the prevention of pressure ulcers in patients admitted to hospital. Cost effectiveness analysis carried out alongside the pressure relieving support surfaces (PRESSURE) trial; a multicentre UK based pragmatic randomised controlled trial. 11 hospitals in six UK NHS trusts. Intention to treat population comprising 1971 participants. Kaplan Meier estimates of restricted mean time to development of pressure ulcers and total costs for treatment in hospital. Alternating pressure mattresses were associated with lower overall costs (283.6 pounds sterling per patient on average, 95% confidence interval--377.59 pounds sterling to 976.79 pounds sterling) mainly due to reduced length of stay in hospital, and greater benefits (a delay in time to ulceration of 10.64 days on average,--24.40 to 3.09). The differences in health benefits and total costs for hospital stay between alternating pressure mattresses and alternating pressure overlays were not statistically significant; however, a cost effectiveness acceptability curve indicated that on average alternating pressure mattresses compared with alternating pressure overlays were associated with an 80% probability of being cost saving. Alternating pressure mattresses for the prevention of pressure ulcers are more likely to be cost effective and are more acceptable to patients than alternating pressure overlays.

  9. Waste Management Facilities Cost Information report for Greater-Than-Class C and DOE equivalent special case waste

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Feizollahi, F.; Shropshire, D.

    1993-07-01

    This Waste Management Facility Cost Information (WMFCI) report for Greater-Than-Class C low-level waste (GTCC LLW) and DOE equivalent special case waste contains preconceptual designs and planning level life-cycle cost (PLCC) estimates for treatment, storage, and disposal facilities needed for management of GTCC LLW and DOE equivalent waste. The report contains information on 16 facilities (referred to as cost modules). These facilities are treatment facility front-end and back-end support functions (administration support, and receiving, preparation, and shipping cost modules); seven treatment concepts (incineration, metal melting, shredding/compaction, solidification, vitrification, metal sizing and decontamination, and wet/air oxidation cost modules); two storage concepts (enclosed vault and silo); disposal facility front-end functions (disposal receiving and inspection cost module); and four disposal concepts (shallow-land, engineered shallow-land, intermediate depth, and deep geological cost modules). Data in this report allow the user to develop PLCC estimates for various waste management options. A procedure to guide the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and its contractor personnel in the use of estimating data is also included in this report.

  10. Waste Management Facilities Cost Information report for Greater-Than-Class C and DOE equivalent special case waste

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Feizollahi, F.; Shropshire, D.

    1993-07-01

    This Waste Management Facility Cost Information (WMFCI) report for Greater-Than-Class C low-level waste (GTCC LLW) and DOE equivalent special case waste contains preconceptual designs and planning level life-cycle cost (PLCC) estimates for treatment, storage, and disposal facilities needed for management of GTCC LLW and DOE equivalent waste. The report contains information on 16 facilities (referred to as cost modules). These facilities are treatment facility front-end and back-end support functions (administration support, and receiving, preparation, and shipping cost modules); seven treatment concepts (incineration, metal melting, shredding/compaction, solidification, vitrification, metal sizing and decontamination, and wet/air oxidation cost modules); two storage concepts (enclosed vault and silo); disposal facility front-end functions (disposal receiving and inspection cost module); and four disposal concepts (shallow-land, engineered shallow-land, intermediate depth, and deep geological cost modules). Data in this report allow the user to develop PLCC estimates for various waste management options. A procedure to guide the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and its contractor personnel in the use of estimating data is also included in this report

  11. Socio-economic considerations of cleaning Greater Vancouver's air

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2005-08-01

    Socio-economic considerations of better air quality on the Greater Vancouver population and economy were discussed. The purpose of the study was to provide socio-economic information to staff and stakeholders of the Greater Vancouver Regional District (GVRD) who are participating in an Air Quality Management Plan (AQMP) development process and the Sustainable Region Initiative (SRI) process. The study incorporated the following methodologies: identification and review of Canadian, American, and European quantitative socio-economic, cost-benefit, cost effectiveness, competitiveness and health analyses of changes in air quality and measures to improve air quality; interviews with industry representatives in Greater Vancouver on competitiveness impacts of air quality changes and ways to improve air quality; and a qualitative analysis and discussion of secondary quantitative information that identifies and evaluates socio-economic impacts arising from changes in Greater Vancouver air quality. The study concluded that for the Greater Vancouver area, the qualitative analysis of an improvement in Greater Vancouver air quality shows positive socio-economic outcomes, as high positive economic efficiency impacts are expected along with good social quality of life impacts. 149 refs., 30 tabs., 6 appendices

  12. Cost-benefit analysis for invasive species control: the case of greater Canada goose Branta canadensis in Flanders (northern Belgium)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Casaer, Jim; De Smet, Lieven; Devos, Koen; Huysentruyt, Frank; Robertson, Peter A.; Verbeke, Tom

    2018-01-01

    Background Sound decisions on control actions for established invasive alien species (IAS) require information on ecological as well as socio-economic impact of the species and of its management. Cost-benefit analysis provides part of this information, yet has received relatively little attention in the scientific literature on IAS. Methods We apply a bio-economic model in a cost-benefit analysis framework to greater Canada goose Branta canadensis, an IAS with documented social, economic and ecological impacts in Flanders (northern Belgium). We compared a business as usual (BAU) scenario which involved non-coordinated hunting and egg destruction with an enhanced scenario based on a continuation of these activities but supplemented with coordinated capture of moulting birds. To assess population growth under the BAU scenario we fitted a logistic growth model to the observed pre-moult capture population. Projected damage costs included water eutrophication and damage to cultivated grasslands and were calculated for all scenarios. Management costs of the moult captures were based on a representative average of the actual cost of planning and executing moult captures. Results Comparing the scenarios with different capture rates, different costs for eutrophication and various discount rates, showed avoided damage costs were in the range of 21.15 M€ to 45.82 M€ under the moult capture scenario. The lowest value for the avoided costs applied to the scenario where we lowered the capture rate by 10%. The highest value occurred in the scenario where we lowered the real discount rate from 4% to 2.5%. Discussion The reduction in damage costs always outweighed the additional management costs of moult captures. Therefore, additional coordinated moult captures could be applied to limit the negative economic impact of greater Canada goose at a regional scale. We further discuss the strengths and weaknesses of our approach and its potential application to other IAS. PMID

  13. Cost-benefit analysis for invasive species control: the case of greater Canada goose Branta canadensis in Flanders (northern Belgium

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nikolaas Reyns

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Background Sound decisions on control actions for established invasive alien species (IAS require information on ecological as well as socio-economic impact of the species and of its management. Cost-benefit analysis provides part of this information, yet has received relatively little attention in the scientific literature on IAS. Methods We apply a bio-economic model in a cost-benefit analysis framework to greater Canada goose Branta canadensis, an IAS with documented social, economic and ecological impacts in Flanders (northern Belgium. We compared a business as usual (BAU scenario which involved non-coordinated hunting and egg destruction with an enhanced scenario based on a continuation of these activities but supplemented with coordinated capture of moulting birds. To assess population growth under the BAU scenario we fitted a logistic growth model to the observed pre-moult capture population. Projected damage costs included water eutrophication and damage to cultivated grasslands and were calculated for all scenarios. Management costs of the moult captures were based on a representative average of the actual cost of planning and executing moult captures. Results Comparing the scenarios with different capture rates, different costs for eutrophication and various discount rates, showed avoided damage costs were in the range of 21.15 M€ to 45.82 M€ under the moult capture scenario. The lowest value for the avoided costs applied to the scenario where we lowered the capture rate by 10%. The highest value occurred in the scenario where we lowered the real discount rate from 4% to 2.5%. Discussion The reduction in damage costs always outweighed the additional management costs of moult captures. Therefore, additional coordinated moult captures could be applied to limit the negative economic impact of greater Canada goose at a regional scale. We further discuss the strengths and weaknesses of our approach and its potential application to other

  14. Can a Costly Intervention Be Cost-effective?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Foster, E. Michael; Jones, Damon

    2009-01-01

    Objectives To examine the cost-effectiveness of the Fast Track intervention, a multi-year, multi-component intervention designed to reduce violence among at-risk children. A previous report documented the favorable effect of intervention on the highest-risk group of ninth-graders diagnosed with conduct disorder, as well as self-reported delinquency. The current report addressed the cost-effectiveness of the intervention for these measures of program impact. Design Costs of the intervention were estimated using program budgets. Incremental cost-effectiveness ratios were computed to determine the cost per unit of improvement in the 3 outcomes measured in the 10th year of the study. Results Examination of the total sample showed that the intervention was not cost-effective at likely levels of policymakers' willingness to pay for the key outcomes. Subsequent analysis of those most at risk, however, showed that the intervention likely was cost-effective given specified willingness-to-pay criteria. Conclusions Results indicate that the intervention is cost-effective for the children at highest risk. From a policy standpoint, this finding is encouraging because such children are likely to generate higher costs for society over their lifetimes. However, substantial barriers to cost-effectiveness remain, such as the ability to effectively identify and recruit such higher-risk children in future implementations. PMID:17088509

  15. Cost-effectiveness of minimally invasive sacroiliac joint fusion

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cher, Daniel J; Frasco, Melissa A; Arnold, Renée JG; Polly, David W

    2016-01-01

    Background Sacroiliac joint (SIJ) disorders are common in patients with chronic lower back pain. Minimally invasive surgical options have been shown to be effective for the treatment of chronic SIJ dysfunction. Objective To determine the cost-effectiveness of minimally invasive SIJ fusion. Methods Data from two prospective, multicenter, clinical trials were used to inform a Markov process cost-utility model to evaluate cumulative 5-year health quality and costs after minimally invasive SIJ fusion using triangular titanium implants or non-surgical treatment. The analysis was performed from a third-party perspective. The model specifically incorporated variation in resource utilization observed in the randomized trial. Multiple one-way and probabilistic sensitivity analyses were performed. Results SIJ fusion was associated with a gain of approximately 0.74 quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) at a cost of US$13,313 per QALY gained. In multiple one-way sensitivity analyses all scenarios resulted in an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) <$26,000/QALY. Probabilistic analyses showed a high degree of certainty that the maximum ICER for SIJ fusion was less than commonly selected thresholds for acceptability (mean ICER =$13,687, 95% confidence interval $5,162–$28,085). SIJ fusion provided potential cost savings per QALY gained compared to non-surgical treatment after a treatment horizon of greater than 13 years. Conclusion Compared to traditional non-surgical treatments, SIJ fusion is a cost-effective, and, in the long term, cost-saving strategy for the treatment of SIJ dysfunction due to degenerative sacroiliitis or SIJ disruption. PMID:26719717

  16. Operational technology for greater confinement disposal

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dickman, P.T.; Vollmer, A.T.; Hunter, P.H.

    1984-12-01

    Procedures and methods for the design and operation of a greater confinement disposal facility using large-diameter boreholes are discussed. It is assumed that the facility would be located at an operating low-level waste disposal site and that only a small portion of the wastes received at the site would require greater confinement disposal. The document is organized into sections addressing: facility planning process; facility construction; waste loading and handling; radiological safety planning; operations procedures; and engineering cost studies. While primarily written for low-level waste management site operators and managers, a detailed economic assessment section is included that should assist planners in performing cost analyses. Economic assessments for both commercial and US government greater confinement disposal facilities are included. The estimated disposal costs range from $27 to $104 per cubic foot for a commercial facility and from $17 to $60 per cubic foot for a government facility. These costs are based on average site preparation, construction, and waste loading costs for both contact- and remote-handled wastes. 14 figures, 22 tables

  17. Effects of category-specific costs on neural systems for perceptual decision-making.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fleming, Stephen M; Whiteley, Louise; Hulme, Oliver J; Sahani, Maneesh; Dolan, Raymond J

    2010-06-01

    Perceptual judgments are often biased by prospective losses, leading to changes in decision criteria. Little is known about how and where sensory evidence and cost information interact in the brain to influence perceptual categorization. Here we show that prospective losses systematically bias the perception of noisy face-house images. Asymmetries in category-specific cost were associated with enhanced blood-oxygen-level-dependent signal in a frontoparietal network. We observed selective activation of parahippocampal gyrus for changes in category-specific cost in keeping with the hypothesis that loss functions enact a particular task set that is communicated to visual regions. Across subjects, greater shifts in decision criteria were associated with greater activation of the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC). Our results support a hypothesis that costs bias an intermediate representation between perception and action, expressed via general effects on frontal cortex, and selective effects on extrastriate cortex. These findings indicate that asymmetric costs may affect a neural implementation of perceptual decision making in a similar manner to changes in category expectation, constituting a step toward accounting for how prospective losses are flexibly integrated with sensory evidence in the brain.

  18. Resolving the "Cost-Effective but Unaffordable" Paradox: Estimating the Health Opportunity Costs of Nonmarginal Budget Impacts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lomas, James; Claxton, Karl; Martin, Stephen; Soares, Marta

    2018-03-01

    Considering whether or not a proposed investment (an intervention, technology, or program of care) is affordable is really asking whether the benefits it offers are greater than its opportunity cost. To say that an investment is cost-effective but not affordable must mean that the (implicit or explicit) "threshold" used to judge cost-effectiveness does not reflect the scale and value of the opportunity costs. Existing empirical estimates of health opportunity costs are based on cross-sectional variation in expenditure and mortality outcomes by program budget categories (PBCs) and do not reflect the likely effect of nonmarginal budget impacts on health opportunity costs. The UK Department of Health regularly updates the needs-based target allocation of resources to local areas of the National Health Service (NHS), creating two subgroups of local areas (those under target allocation and those over). These data provide the opportunity to explore how the effects of changes in health care expenditure differ with available resources. We use 2008-2009 data to evaluate two econometric approaches to estimation and explore a range of criteria for accepting subgroup specific effects for differences in expenditure and outcome elasticities across the 23 PBCs. Our results indicate that health opportunity costs arising from an investment imposing net increases in expenditure are underestimated unless account is taken of likely nonmarginal effects. They also indicate the benefits (reduced health opportunity costs or increased value-based price of a technology) of being able to "smooth" these nonmarginal budget impacts by health care systems borrowing against future budgets or from manufacturers offering "mortgage" type arrangements. Copyright © 2018 International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  19. Clean air benefits and costs in the GVRD [Greater Vancouver Regional District

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gislason, G.; Martin, J.; Williams, D.; Caton, B.; Rich, J.; Rojak, S.; Robinson, J.; Stuermer, A. von

    1994-01-01

    Air pollution is a major concern in the Greater Vancouver Regional District in British Columbia. An analysis was conducted to assess the costs and benefits of an innovative plan to reduce the emissions of five primary pollutants in the GVRD: nitrogen oxides (NOx), sulfur oxides (SOx), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), particulates, and CO. The study adopts a damage function approach in which the benefits of reduced emissions are given by the averted damages to human health, crops, and so on. Under a base case scenario, motor vehicle emission controls and additional measures proposed in the region's air quality management plan (AQMP) are projected to lead to emission reductions of 873,000 tonnes in the GVRD by the year 2020, compared to the emission level projected without intervention. The AQMP is projected to avert over its life some 2,800 premature deaths, 33,000 emergency room visits, 13 million restricted activity days, and 5 million symptoms. Crop losses due to ozone are projected to decrease by 1-4%/y over the next several decades due to the AQMP. Damage averted to materials and property per tonne of pollutant reduced ranges from $30 for VOC to $180 for particulates. Under base-case conservative assumptions, the AQMP generates $5.4 billion in benefits and $3.8 billion in costs, nearly 2/3 of which are paid by the industrial and commercial sectors. 1 tab

  20. Use of spikants in HTGR fuel and their effect on costs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brooks, L.H.

    1979-05-01

    The costs of fresh fuel fabrication have been estimated for flowsheets that have spikant added (Co-60) at various points. The costs are compared with refabricated and fresh fuel fabrication costs. It is shown that the costs increase as the spikant is added nearer to the plant feed point. The least cost is achieved by adding a detachable spikant to the finished fuel element. The highest cost is incurred when the spikant is fed in with the plant feed. This cost is greater than that for refabricated fuel because extra process cells are necessary to prepare the spikant and, in addition, the gamma flux from the Co-60 is much greater than from U-232 and greater precautions have to be taken

  1. A cost-effectiveness analysis of artemether lumefantrine for treatment of uncomplicated malaria in Zambia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hawela Moonga

    2007-02-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Malaria remains a leading cause of morbidity, mortality and non-fatal disability in Zambia, especially among children, pregnant women and the poor. Data gathered by the National Malaria Control Centre has shown that recently observed widespread treatment failure of SP and chloroquine precipitated a surge in malaria-related morbidity and mortality. As a result, the Government has recently replaced chloroquine and SP with combination therapy as first-line treatment for malaria. Despite the acclaimed therapeutic advantages of ACTs over monotherapies with SP and CQ, the cost of ACTs is much greater, raising concerns about affordability in many poor countries such as Zambia. This study evaluates the cost-effectiveness analysis of artemether-lumefantrine, a version of ACTs adopted in Zambia in mid 2004. Methods Using data gathered from patients presenting at public health facilities with suspected malaria, the costs and effects of using ACTs versus SP as first-line treatment for malaria were estimated. The study was conducted in six district sites. Treatment success and reduction in demand for second line treatment constituted the main effectiveness outcomes. The study gathered data on the efficacy of, and compliance to, AL and SP treatment from a random sample of patients. Costs are based on estimated drug, labour, operational and capital inputs. Drug costs were based on dosages and unit prices provided by the Ministry of Health and the manufacturer (Norvatis. Findings The results suggest that AL produces successful treatment at less cost than SP, implying that AL is more cost-effective. While it is acknowledged that implementing national ACT program will require considerable resources, the study demonstrates that the health gains (treatment success from every dollar spent are significantly greater if AL is used rather than SP. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio is estimated to be US$4.10. When the costs of second line

  2. Cost-effectiveness analysis: what it really means for transfusion medicine decision making.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Custer, Brian; Hoch, Jeffrey S

    2009-01-01

    Some have suggested that "blood is different," and the role for cost-effectiveness is thus circumscribed. In this article, the authors start by reviewing key concepts in health economics and economic analysis methods. Examples are drawn from published blood safety studies. After explaining the underlying reasoning behind cost-effectiveness analysis, the authors point out how economic thinking is evident in some aspects of transfusion medicine. Some cost-effectiveness study results for blood safety are discussed to provide context, followed by consideration of prominent decisions that have been made in transfusion medicine field. In the last section, the authors conjecture as to why in some cases cost-effectiveness analysis appears to have greater impact than in others, noting the terrible price that is paid in mortality and morbidity when cost-effectiveness analysis is ignored. In this context, the implications of opportunity cost are discussed, and it is noted that opportunity cost should not be viewed as benefits forgone by concentrating on one aspect of blood safety and instead should be viewed as our societal willingness to misallocate resources to achieve less health for the same cost.

  3. The cost-effectiveness of methanol for reducing motor vehicle emissions and urban ozone

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Krupnick, A.J.; Walls, M.A.

    1992-01-01

    This article analyzes the costs and emissions characteristics of methanol vehicles. The cost-effectiveness of methanol - the cost per ton of reactive hydrocarbon emissions reduced - is calculated and compared to the cost-effectiveness of other hydrocarbon reduction strategies. Methanol is found to cost from $33,000 to nearly $60,000 per ton, while several other options are available for under $10,000 per ton. The cost per part-per-million reduction in peak ambient ozone levels is also computed for two cities, Houston and Philadelphia. Despite the greater improvement in ozone in Philadelphia than Houston, methanol is found to be more cost-effective in Houston. This result occurs because Houston's distribution and marketing costs are lower than Philadelphia's. The costs in both cities, however, are far higher than estimates of the benefits from acute health improvements. Finally, the reduction in ozone exposure in Los Angeles is estimated and the costs of the reduction compared with an estimate of acute health benefits. Again, the benefits fall far short of the costs. 51 refs., 5 tabs

  4. Costs, health effects and cost-effectiveness of alcohol and tobacco control strategies in Estonia.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Lai, T.; Habicht, J.; Reinap, M.; Chisholm, D.; Baltussen, R.M.P.M.

    2007-01-01

    OBJECTIVE: To assess the population-level costs, effects and cost-effectiveness of different alcohol and tobacco control strategies in Estonia. DESIGN: A WHO cost-effectiveness modelling framework was used to estimate the total costs and effects of interventions. Costs were assessed in Estonian

  5. Custom LSI plus hybrid equals cost effectiveness

    Science.gov (United States)

    Friedman, S. N.

    The possibility to combine various technologies, such as Bi-Polar linear and CMOS/Digital makes it feasible to create systems with a tailored performance not available on a single monolithic circuit. The custom LSI 'BLOCK', especially if it is universal in nature, is proving to be a cost effective way for the developer to improve his product. The custom LSI represents a low price part in contrast to the discrete components it will replace. In addition, the hybrid assembly can realize a savings in labor as a result of the reduced parts handling and associated wire bonds. The possibility of the use of automated system manufacturing techniques leads to greater reliability as the human factor is partly eliminated. Attention is given to reliability predictions, cost considerations, and a product comparison study.

  6. Opportunity cost of funding drugs for rare diseases: the cost-effectiveness of eculizumab in paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coyle, Doug; Cheung, Matthew C; Evans, Gerald A

    2014-11-01

    Both ethical and economics concerns have been raised with respect to the funding of drugs for rare diseases. This article reports both the cost-effectiveness of eculizumab for the treatment of paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH) and its associated opportunity costs. Analysis compared eculizumab plus current standard of care v. current standard of care from a publicly funded health care system perspective. A Markov model covered the major consequences of PNH and treatment. Cost-effectiveness was assessed in terms of the incremental cost per life year and per quality-adjusted life year (QALY) gained. Opportunity costs were assessed by the health gains foregone and the alternative uses for the additional resources. Eculizumab is associated with greater life years (1.13), QALYs (2.45), and costs (CAN$5.24 million). The incremental cost per life year and per QALY gained is CAN$4.62 million and CAN$2.13 million, respectively. Based on established thresholds, the opportunity cost of funding eculizumab is 102.3 discounted QALYs per patient funded. Sensitivity and subgroup analysis confirmed the robustness of the results. If the acquisition cost of eculizumab was reduced by 98.5%, it could be considered cost-effective. The nature of rare diseases means that data are often sparse for the conduct of economic evaluations. When data were limited, assumptions were made that biased results in favor of eculizumab. This study demonstrates the feasibility of conducting economic evaluations in the context of rare diseases. Eculizumab may provide substantive benefits to patients with PNH in terms of life expectancy and quality of life but at a high incremental cost and a substantial opportunity cost. Decision makers should fully consider the opportunity costs before making positive reimbursement decisions. © The Author(s) 2014.

  7. Cost-effectiveness of norovirus vaccination in children in Peru.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mirelman, Andrew J; Ballard, Sarah Blythe; Saito, Mayuko; Kosek, Margaret N; Gilman, Robert H

    2015-06-17

    With candidate norovirus (NV) vaccines in a rapid phase of development, assessment of the potential economic value of vaccine implementation will be necessary to aid health officials in vaccine implementation decisions. To date, no evaluations have been performed to evaluate the benefit of adopting NV vaccines for use in the childhood immunization programs of low- and middle-income countries. We used a Markov decision model to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of adding a two-dose NV vaccine to Peru's routine childhood immunization schedule using two recent estimates of NV incidence, one for a peri-urban region and one for a jungle region of the country. Using the peri-urban NV incidence estimate, the annual cost of vaccination would be $13.0 million, offset by $2.6 million in treatment savings. Overall, this would result in 473 total DALYs averted; 526,245 diarrhea cases averted;153,735 outpatient visits averted; and 414 hospitalizations averted between birth and the fifth year of life. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio would be $21,415 per DALY averted; $19.86 per diarrhea case; $68.23 per outpatient visit; and $26,298 per hospitalization. Using the higher jungle NV incidence rates provided a lower cost per DALY of $10,135. The incremental cost per DALY with per-urban NV incidence is greater than three times the 2012 GDP per capita of Peru but the estimate drops below this threshold using the incidence from the jungle setting. In addition to the impact of incidence, sensitivity analysis showed that vaccine price and efficacy play a strong role in determining the level of cost-effectiveness. The introduction of a NV vaccine would prevent many healthcare outcomes in the Peru and potentially be cost-effective in scenarios with high NV incidence. The vaccine cost-effectiveness model could also be applied to the evaluation of NV vaccine cost-effectiveness in other countries. In resource-poor settings, where NV incidence rates are expected to be higher. Published

  8. Cost-effectiveness of minimally invasive sacroiliac joint fusion

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cher DJ

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Daniel J Cher,1 Melissa A Frasco,2 Renée JG Arnold,2,3 David W Polly4,5 1Clinical Affairs, SI-BONE, Inc., San Jose, CA, USA; 2Division of Health Economics and Outcomes Research, Quorum Consulting, Inc., San Francisco, CA, USA; 3Department of Preventive Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA; 4Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA; 5Department of Neurosurgery, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA Background: Sacroiliac joint (SIJ disorders are common in patients with chronic lower back pain. Minimally invasive surgical options have been shown to be effective for the treatment of chronic SIJ dysfunction. Objective: To determine the cost-effectiveness of minimally invasive SIJ fusion. Methods: Data from two prospective, multicenter, clinical trials were used to inform a Markov process cost-utility model to evaluate cumulative 5-year health quality and costs after minimally invasive SIJ fusion using triangular titanium implants or non-surgical treatment. The analysis was performed from a third-party perspective. The model specifically incorporated variation in resource utilization observed in the randomized trial. Multiple one-way and probabilistic sensitivity analyses were performed. Results: SIJ fusion was associated with a gain of approximately 0.74 quality-adjusted life years (QALYs at a cost of US$13,313 per QALY gained. In multiple one-way sensitivity analyses all scenarios resulted in an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER <$26,000/QALY. Probabilistic analyses showed a high degree of certainty that the maximum ICER for SIJ fusion was less than commonly selected thresholds for acceptability (mean ICER =$13,687, 95% confidence interval $5,162–$28,085. SIJ fusion provided potential cost savings per QALY gained compared to non-surgical treatment after a treatment horizon of greater than 13 years. Conclusion: Compared to traditional non-surgical treatments

  9. Cost-Effective Control of Infectious Disease Outbreaks Accounting for Societal Reaction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fast, Shannon M; González, Marta C; Markuzon, Natasha

    2015-01-01

    Studies of cost-effective disease prevention have typically focused on the tradeoff between the cost of disease transmission and the cost of applying control measures. We present a novel approach that also accounts for the cost of social disruptions resulting from the spread of disease. These disruptions, which we call social response, can include heightened anxiety, strain on healthcare infrastructure, economic losses, or violence. The spread of disease and social response are simulated under several different intervention strategies. The modeled social response depends upon the perceived risk of the disease, the extent of disease spread, and the media involvement. Using Monte Carlo simulation, we estimate the total number of infections and total social response for each strategy. We then identify the strategy that minimizes the expected total cost of the disease, which includes the cost of the disease itself, the cost of control measures, and the cost of social response. The model-based simulations suggest that the least-cost disease control strategy depends upon the perceived risk of the disease, as well as media intervention. The most cost-effective solution for diseases with low perceived risk was to implement moderate control measures. For diseases with higher perceived severity, such as SARS or Ebola, the most cost-effective strategy shifted toward intervening earlier in the outbreak, with greater resources. When intervention elicited increased media involvement, it remained important to control high severity diseases quickly. For moderate severity diseases, however, it became most cost-effective to implement no intervention and allow the disease to run its course. Our simulation results imply that, when diseases are perceived as severe, the costs of social response have a significant influence on selecting the most cost-effective strategy.

  10. Cost-Effective Control of Infectious Disease Outbreaks Accounting for Societal Reaction.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shannon M Fast

    Full Text Available Studies of cost-effective disease prevention have typically focused on the tradeoff between the cost of disease transmission and the cost of applying control measures. We present a novel approach that also accounts for the cost of social disruptions resulting from the spread of disease. These disruptions, which we call social response, can include heightened anxiety, strain on healthcare infrastructure, economic losses, or violence.The spread of disease and social response are simulated under several different intervention strategies. The modeled social response depends upon the perceived risk of the disease, the extent of disease spread, and the media involvement. Using Monte Carlo simulation, we estimate the total number of infections and total social response for each strategy. We then identify the strategy that minimizes the expected total cost of the disease, which includes the cost of the disease itself, the cost of control measures, and the cost of social response.The model-based simulations suggest that the least-cost disease control strategy depends upon the perceived risk of the disease, as well as media intervention. The most cost-effective solution for diseases with low perceived risk was to implement moderate control measures. For diseases with higher perceived severity, such as SARS or Ebola, the most cost-effective strategy shifted toward intervening earlier in the outbreak, with greater resources. When intervention elicited increased media involvement, it remained important to control high severity diseases quickly. For moderate severity diseases, however, it became most cost-effective to implement no intervention and allow the disease to run its course. Our simulation results imply that, when diseases are perceived as severe, the costs of social response have a significant influence on selecting the most cost-effective strategy.

  11. Cost-effectiveness analysis of computerized ECG interpretation system in an ambulatory health care organization.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carel, R S

    1982-04-01

    The cost-effectiveness of a computerized ECG interpretation system in an ambulatory health care organization has been evaluated in comparison with a conventional (manual) system. The automated system was shown to be more cost-effective at a minimum load of 2,500 patients/month. At larger monthly loads an even greater cost-effectiveness was found, the average cost/ECG being about $2. In the manual system the cost/unit is practically independent of patient load. This is primarily due to the fact that 87% of the cost/ECG is attributable to wages and fees of highly trained personnel. In the automated system, on the other hand, the cost/ECG is heavily dependent on examinee load. This is due to the relatively large impact of equipment depreciation on fixed (and total) cost. Utilization of a computer-assisted system leads to marked reduction in cardiologists' interpretation time, substantially shorter turnaround time (of unconfirmed reports), and potential provision of simultaneous service at several remotely located "heart stations."

  12. Benefit-cost-risk analysis of alternatives for greater-confinement disposal of radioactive waste

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gilbert, T.L.; Luner, C.; Peterson, J.M.

    1983-01-01

    Seven alternatives are included in the analysis: near-surface disposal; improved waste form; below-ground engineered structure; augered shaft; shale fracturing; shallow geologic repository; and high-level waste repository. These alternatives are representative generic facilities that span the range from low-level waste disposal practice to high-level waste disposal practice, tentatively ordered according to an expected increasing cost and/or effectiveness of confinement. They have been chosen to enable an assessment of the degree of confinement that represents an appropriate balance between public health and safety requirements and costs rather than identification of a specific preferred facility design. The objective of the analysis is to provide a comparative ranking of the alternatives on the basis of benefit-cost-risk considerations

  13. Mid-term cost-effectiveness analysis of open and endovascular repair for ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rollins, K E; Shak, J; Ambler, G K; Tang, T Y; Hayes, P D; Boyle, J R

    2014-02-01

    Emergency endovascular repair (EVAR) for ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm (rAAA) may have lower operative mortality rates than open surgical repair. Concerns remain that the early survival benefit after EVAR for rAAA may be offset by late reinterventions. The aim of this study was to compare reintervention rates and cost-effectiveness of EVAR and open repair for rAAA. A retrospective analysis was undertaken of patients with rAAA undergoing EVAR or open repair over 6 years. A health economic model developed for the cost-effectiveness of elective EVAR was used in the emergency setting. Sixty-two patients (mean age 77·9 years) underwent EVAR and 85 (mean age 75·9 years) had open repair of rAAA. Median follow-up was 42 and 39 months respectively. There was no significant difference in 30-day mortality rates after EVAR and open repair (18 and 26 per cent respectively; P = 0·243). Reintervention rates were also similar (32 and 31 per cent; P = 0·701). The mean cost per patient was €26,725 for EVAR and €30,297 for open repair, and the cost per life-year gained was €7906 and €9933 respectively (P = 0·561). Open repair had greater initial costs: longer procedural times (217 versus 178·5 min; P < 0·001) and intensive care stay (5·0 versus 1·0 days; P = 0·015). Conversely, EVAR had greater reintervention (€156,939 versus €35,335; P = 0·001) and surveillance (P < 0·001) costs. There was no significant difference in reintervention rates after EVAR or open repair for rAAA. EVAR was as cost-effective at mid-term follow-up. The increased procedural costs of open repair are not outweighed by greater surveillance and reintervention costs after EVAR. © 2014 BJS Society Ltd. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  14. The cost-effectiveness of supportive periodontal care for patients with chronic periodontitis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gaunt, Francesca; Devine, Maria; Pennington, Mark; Vernazza, Chris; Gwynnett, Erika; Steen, Nick; Heasman, Peter

    2008-09-01

    To systematically evaluate the evidence for effectiveness of supportive periodontal care (SPC) provided in specialist care and general practice for patients with chronic periodontitis; to construct a model for the cost effectiveness of SPC. Electronic database searches of MEDLINE, EMBASE and SCOPUS were performed with hand searching of relevant journals and Workshops of Periodontology. SPC for patients with chronic periodontitis, at least 12 months follow-up and clinical attachment level as a primary outcome. Three articles addressed the question (Nyman et al. 1975, Axelsson & Lindhe 1981, Cortellini et al. 1994): Deltas CAL for patients undergoing "specialist" SPC were 0.1 mm (2 years), 0.2 mm (6 years) and -0.01 mm (3 years) respectively. In generalist care the Deltas CAL during SPC were -2.2, -1.8 and -2.8 mm. Differences between specialist and generalist SPC were an extra 20.59 tooth years and 3.95 mm attachment loss for generalist SPC. Incremental cost-effectiveness ratios were an extra 288 euros for one tooth year or an extra 1503 euros/1 mm reduction in loss of attachment for SPC delivered in specialist care. SPC delivered in specialist as compared with general practice will result in greater stability of clinical attachment but this will be achieved at relatively greater cost.

  15. Effectiveness and cost effectiveness of television, radio and print advertisements in promoting the New York smokers' quitline.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Farrelly, Matthew C; Hussin, Altijani; Bauer, Ursula E

    2007-12-01

    This study assessed the relative effectiveness and cost effectiveness of television, radio and print advertisements to generate calls to the New York smokers' quitline. Regression analysis was used to link total county level monthly quitline calls to television, radio and print advertising expenditures. Based on regression results, standardised measures of the relative effectiveness and cost effectiveness of expenditures were computed. There was a positive and statistically significant relation between call volume and expenditures for television (padvertisements and a marginally significant effect for expenditures on newspaper advertisements (peffect was for television advertising. However, because of differences in advertising costs, for every $1000 increase in television, radio and newspaper expenditures, call volume increased by 0.1%, 5.7% and 2.8%, respectively. Television, radio and print media all effectively increased calls to the New York smokers' quitline. Although increases in expenditures for television were the most effective, their relatively high costs suggest they are not currently the most cost effective means to promote a quitline. This implies that a more efficient mix of media would place greater emphasis on radio than television. However, because the current study does not adequately assess the extent to which radio expenditures would sustain their effectiveness with substantial expenditure increases, it is not feasible to determine a more optimal mix of expenditures.

  16. Costs and Cost-Effectiveness of Plasmodium vivax Control.

    Science.gov (United States)

    White, Michael T; Yeung, Shunmay; Patouillard, Edith; Cibulskis, Richard

    2016-12-28

    The continued success of efforts to reduce the global malaria burden will require sustained funding for interventions specifically targeting Plasmodium vivax The optimal use of limited financial resources necessitates cost and cost-effectiveness analyses of strategies for diagnosing and treating P. vivax and vector control tools. Herein, we review the existing published evidence on the costs and cost-effectiveness of interventions for controlling P. vivax, identifying nine studies focused on diagnosis and treatment and seven studies focused on vector control. Although many of the results from the much more extensive P. falciparum literature can be applied to P. vivax, it is not always possible to extrapolate results from P. falciparum-specific cost-effectiveness analyses. Notably, there is a need for additional studies to evaluate the potential cost-effectiveness of radical cure with primaquine for the prevention of P. vivax relapses with glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase testing. © The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.

  17. Is prophylactic fixation a cost-effective method to prevent a future contralateral fragility hip fracture?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Faucett, Scott C; Genuario, James W; Tosteson, Anna N A; Koval, Kenneth J

    2010-02-01

    : A previous hip fracture more than doubles the risk of a contralateral hip fracture. Pharmacologic and environmental interventions to prevent hip fracture have documented poor compliance. The purpose of this study was to examine the cost-effectiveness of prophylactic fixation of the uninjured hip to prevent contralateral hip fracture. : A Markov state-transition model was used to evaluate the cost and quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) for unilateral fixation of hip fracture alone (including internal fixation or arthroplasty) compared with unilateral fixation and contralateral prophylactic hip fixation performed at the time of hip fracture or unilateral fixation and bilateral hip pad protection. Prophylactic fixation involved placement of a cephalomedullary nail in the uninjured hip and was initially assumed to have a relative risk of a contralateral fracture of 1%. Health states included good health, surgery-related complications requiring a second operation (infection, osteonecrosis, nonunion, and malunion), fracture of the uninjured hip, and death. The primary outcome measure was the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio estimated as cost per QALY gained in 2006 US dollars with incremental cost-effectiveness ratios below $50,000 per QALY gained considered cost-effective. Sensitivity analyses evaluated the impact of patient age, annual mortality and complication rates, intervention effectiveness, utilities, and costs on the value of prophylactic fixation. : In the baseline analysis, in a 79-year-old woman, prophylactic fixation was not found to be cost-effective (incremental cost-effectiveness ratio = $142,795/QALY). However, prophylactic fixation was found to be a cost-effective method to prevent contralateral hip fracture in: 1) women 71 to 75 years old who had 30% greater relative risk for a contralateral fracture; and 2) women younger than age 70 years. Cost-effectiveness was greater when the additional costs of prophylaxis were less than $6000. However, for

  18. Cost, cost-efficiency and cost-effectiveness of integrated family planning and HIV services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shade, Starley B; Kevany, Sebastian; Onono, Maricianah; Ochieng, George; Steinfeld, Rachel L; Grossman, Daniel; Newmann, Sara J; Blat, Cinthia; Bukusi, Elizabeth A; Cohen, Craig R

    2013-10-01

    To evaluate costs, cost-efficiency and cost-effectiveness of integration of family planning into HIV services. Integration of family planning services into HIV care and treatment clinics. A cluster-randomized trial. Twelve health facilities in Nyanza, Kenya were randomized to integrate family planning into HIV care and treatment; six health facilities were randomized to (nonintegrated) standard-of-care with separately delivered family planning and HIV services. We assessed costs, cost-efficiency (cost per additional use of more effective family planning), and cost-effectiveness (cost per pregnancy averted) associated with the first year of integration of family planning into HIV care. More effective family planning methods included oral and injectable contraceptives, subdermal implants, intrauterine device, and female and male sterilization. We collected cost data through interviews with study staff and review of financial records to determine costs of service integration. Integration of services was associated with an average marginal cost of $841 per site and $48 per female patient. Average overall and marginal costs of integration were associated with personnel costs [initial ($1003 vs. $872) and refresher ($498 vs. $330) training, mentoring ($1175 vs. $902) and supervision ($1694 vs. $1636)], with fewer resources required for other fixed ($18 vs. $0) and recurring expenses ($471 vs. $287). Integration was associated with a marginal cost of $65 for each additional use of more effective family planning and $1368 for each pregnancy averted. Integration of family planning and HIV services is feasible, inexpensive to implement, and cost-efficient in the Kenyan setting, and thus supports current Kenyan integration policy.

  19. The Cost-Effectiveness of Dual Mobility Implants for Primary Total Hip Arthroplasty: A Computer-Based Cost-Utility Model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barlow, Brian T; McLawhorn, Alexander S; Westrich, Geoffrey H

    2017-05-03

    Dislocation remains a clinically important problem following primary total hip arthroplasty, and it is a common reason for revision total hip arthroplasty. Dual mobility (DM) implants decrease the risk of dislocation but can be more expensive than conventional implants and have idiosyncratic failure mechanisms. The purpose of this study was to investigate the cost-effectiveness of DM implants compared with conventional bearings for primary total hip arthroplasty. Markov model analysis was conducted from the societal perspective with use of direct and indirect costs. Costs, expressed in 2013 U.S. dollars, were derived from the literature, the National Inpatient Sample, and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Effectiveness was expressed in quality-adjusted life years (QALYs). The model was populated with health state utilities and state transition probabilities derived from previously published literature. The analysis was performed for a patient's lifetime, and costs and effectiveness were discounted at 3% annually. The principal outcome was the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER), with a willingness-to-pay threshold of $100,000/QALY. Sensitivity analyses were performed to explore relevant uncertainty. In the base case, DM total hip arthroplasty showed absolute dominance over conventional total hip arthroplasty, with lower accrued costs ($39,008 versus $40,031 U.S. dollars) and higher accrued utility (13.18 versus 13.13 QALYs) indicating cost-savings. DM total hip arthroplasty ceased being cost-saving when its implant costs exceeded those of conventional total hip arthroplasty by $1,023, and the cost-effectiveness threshold for DM implants was $5,287 greater than that for conventional implants. DM was not cost-effective when the annualized incremental probability of revision from any unforeseen failure mechanism or mechanisms exceeded 0.29%. The probability of intraprosthetic dislocation exerted the most influence on model results. This model

  20. GDP Matters: Cost Effectiveness of Cochlear Implantation and Deaf Education in Sub-Saharan Africa.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Emmett, Susan D; Tucci, Debara L; Smith, Magteld; Macharia, Isaac M; Ndegwa, Serah N; Nakku, Doreen; Mukara, Kaitesi B; Kaitesi, Mukara B; Ibekwe, Titus S; Mulwafu, Wakisa; Gong, Wenfeng; Francis, Howard W; Saunders, James E

    2015-09-01

    Cochlear implantation and deaf education are cost effective in Sub-Saharan Africa. Cost effectiveness of pediatric cochlear implantation has been well established in developed countries but is unknown in low resource settings, where access to the technology has traditionally been limited. With incidence of severe-to-profound congenital sensorineural hearing loss 5 to 6 times higher in low/middle-income countries than the United States and Europe, developing cost-effective management strategies in these settings is critical. Costs were obtained from experts in Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, and Malawi using known costs and published data, with estimation when necessary. A disability adjusted life years (DALY) model was applied using 3% discounting and 10-year length of analysis. Sensitivity analysis was performed to evaluate the effect of device cost, professional salaries, annual number of implants, and probability of device failure. Cost effectiveness was determined using the WHO standard of cost-effectiveness ratio/gross domestic product per capita (CER/GDP) less than 3. Cochlear implantation was cost effective in South Africa and Nigeria, with CER/GDP of 1.03 and 2.05, respectively. Deaf education was cost effective in all countries investigated, with CER/GDP ranging from 0.55 to 1.56. The most influential factor in the sensitivity analysis was device cost, with the cost-effective threshold reached in all countries using discounted device costs that varied directly with GDP. Cochlear implantation and deaf education are equally cost effective in lower-middle and upper-middle income economies of Nigeria and South Africa. Device cost may have greater impact in the emerging economies of Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, and Malawi.

  1. Cost-effectiveness of volumetric alcohol taxation in Australia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Byrnes, Joshua M; Cobiac, Linda J; Doran, Christopher M; Vos, Theo; Shakeshaft, Anthony P

    2010-04-19

    To estimate the potential health benefits and cost savings of an alcohol tax rate that applies equally to all alcoholic beverages based on their alcohol content (volumetric tax) and to compare the cost savings with the cost of implementation. Mathematical modelling of three scenarios of volumetric alcohol taxation for the population of Australia: (i) no change in deadweight loss, (ii) no change in tax revenue, and (iii) all alcoholic beverages taxed at the same rate as spirits. Estimated change in alcohol consumption, tax revenue and health benefit. The estimated cost of changing to a volumetric tax rate is $18 million. A volumetric tax that is deadweight loss-neutral would increase the cost of beer and wine and reduce the cost of spirits, resulting in an estimated annual increase in taxation revenue of $492 million and a 2.77% reduction in annual consumption of pure alcohol. The estimated net health gain would be 21 000 disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs), with potential cost offsets of $110 million per annum. A tax revenue-neutral scenario would result in an 0.05% decrease in consumption, and a tax on all alcohol at a spirits rate would reduce consumption by 23.85% and increase revenue by $3094 million [corrected]. All volumetric tax scenarios would provide greater health benefits and cost savings to the health sector than the existing taxation system, based on current understandings of alcohol-related health effects. An equalized volumetric tax that would reduce beer and wine consumption while increasing the consumption of spirits would need to be approached with caution. Further research is required to examine whether alcohol-related health effects vary by type of alcoholic beverage independent of the amount of alcohol consumed to provide a strong evidence platform for alcohol taxation policies.

  2. Effectiveness and Cost-effectiveness of Opportunistic Screening and Stepped-care Interventions for Older Alcohol Users in Primary Care.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coulton, Simon; Bland, Martin; Crosby, Helen; Dale, Veronica; Drummond, Colin; Godfrey, Christine; Kaner, Eileen; Sweetman, Jennifer; McGovern, Ruth; Newbury-Birch, Dorothy; Parrott, Steve; Tober, Gillian; Watson, Judith; Wu, Qi

    2017-11-01

    To compare the clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of a stepped-care intervention versus a minimal intervention for the treatment of older hazardous alcohol users in primary care. Multi-centre, pragmatic RCT, set in Primary Care in UK. Patients aged ≥ 55 years scoring ≥ 8 on the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test were allocated either to 5-min of brief advice or to 'Stepped Care': an initial 20-min of behavioural change counselling, with Step 2 being three sessions of Motivational Enhancement Therapy and Step 3 referral to local alcohol services (progression between each Step being determined by outcomes 1 month after each Step). Outcome measures included average drinks per day, AUDIT-C, alcohol-related problems using the Drinking Problems Index, health-related quality of life using the Short Form 12, costs measured from a NHS/Personal Social Care perspective and estimated health gains in quality adjusted life-years measured assessed EQ-5D. Both groups reduced alcohol consumption at 12 months but the difference between groups was small and not significant. No significant differences were observed between the groups on secondary outcomes. In economic terms stepped care was less costly and more effective than the minimal intervention. Stepped care does not confer an advantage over a minimal intervention in terms of reduction in alcohol use for older hazardous alcohol users in primary care. However, stepped care has a greater probability of being more cost-effective. Current controlled trials ISRCTN52557360. A stepped care approach was compared with brief intervention for older at-risk drinkers attending primary care. While consumption reduced in both groups over 12 months there was no significant difference between the groups. An economic analysis indicated the stepped care which had a greater probability of being more cost-effective than brief intervention. © The Author 2017. Medical Council on Alcohol and Oxford University Press. All rights

  3. Effects of bystander CPR following out-of-hospital cardiac arrest on hospital costs and long-term survival.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Geri, Guillaume; Fahrenbruch, Carol; Meischke, Hendrika; Painter, Ian; White, Lindsay; Rea, Thomas D; Weaver, Marcia R

    2017-06-01

    Bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is associated with a greater likelihood of survival to hospital discharge after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA). However the long-term survival benefits in relationship to cost have not been well-studied. We evaluated bystander CPR, hospital-based costs, and long-term survival following OHCA in order to assess the potential cost-effectiveness of bystander CPR. We conducted a retrospective cohort study of consecutive EMS-treated OHCA patients >=12years who arrested prior to EMS arrival and outside a nursing facility between 2001 and 2010 in greater King County, WA. Utstein-style information was obtained from the EMS registry, including 5-year survival. Costs from the OHCA hospitalization were obtained from the Washington State Comprehensive Hospital Abstract Reporting System. Cost effectiveness was based on hospital costs divided by quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) for a 5-year follow-up window. Of the 4448 eligible patients, 18.5% (n=824) were discharged alive from hospital and 12.1% (n=539) were alive at 5 years. Five-year survival was higher in patients who received bystander CPR (14.3% vs. 8.7%, pbystander CPR. The average (SD) total cost of the initial acute care hospitalization was USD 19,961 (40,498) for all admitted patients and USD 75,175 (52,276) for patients alive at year 5. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio associated with bystander CPR was USD 48,044 per QALY. Based on this population-based investigation, bystander CPR was positively associated with long-term survival and appears cost-effective. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  4. Cost-effectiveness analysis of implants versus autologous perforator flaps using the BREAST-Q.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Matros, Evan; Albornoz, Claudia R; Razdan, Shantanu N; Mehrara, Babak J; Macadam, Sheina A; Ro, Teresa; McCarthy, Colleen M; Disa, Joseph J; Cordeiro, Peter G; Pusic, Andrea L

    2015-04-01

    Reimbursement has been recognized as a physician barrier to autologous reconstruction. Autologous reconstructions are more expensive than prosthetic reconstructions, but provide greater health-related quality of life. The authors' hypothesis is that autologous tissue reconstructions are cost-effective compared with prosthetic techniques when considering health-related quality of life and patient satisfaction. A cost-effectiveness analysis from the payer perspective, including patient input, was performed for unilateral and bilateral reconstructions with deep inferior epigastric perforator (DIEP) flaps and implants. The effectiveness measure was derived using the BREAST-Q and interpreted as the cost for obtaining 1 year of perfect breast health-related quality-adjusted life-year. Costs were obtained from the 2010 Nationwide Inpatient Sample. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio was generated. A sensitivity analysis for age and stage at diagnosis was performed. BREAST-Q scores from 309 patients with implants and 217 DIEP flap reconstructions were included. The additional cost for obtaining 1 year of perfect breast-related health for a unilateral DIEP flap compared with implant reconstruction was $11,941. For bilateral DIEP flaps compared with implant reconstructions, the cost for an additional breast health-related quality-adjusted life-year was $28,017. The sensitivity analysis demonstrated that the cost for an additional breast health-related quality-adjusted life-year for DIEP flaps compared with implants was less for younger patients and earlier stage breast cancer. DIEP flaps are cost-effective compared with implants, especially for unilateral reconstructions. Cost-effectiveness of autologous techniques is maximized in women with longer life expectancy. Patient-reported outcomes findings can be incorporated into cost-effectiveness analyses to demonstrate the relative value of reconstructive procedures.

  5. Cost-effectiveness of interventions to prevent cardiovascular disease in Australia's indigenous population.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ong, Katherine S; Carter, Rob; Vos, Theo; Kelaher, Margaret; Anderson, Ian

    2014-05-01

    Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of disease burden in Australia's Indigenous population, and the greatest contributor to the Indigenous 'health gap'. Economic evidence can help identify interventions that efficiently address this discrepancy. Five interventions (one community-based and four pharmacological) to prevent cardiovascular disease in Australia's Indigenous population were subject to economic evaluation. Pharmacological interventions were evaluated as delivered either via Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services or mainstream general practitioner services. Cost-utility analysis methods were used, with health benefit measured in disability-adjusted life-years saved. All pharmacological interventions produced more Indigenous health benefit when delivered via Indigenous health services, but cost-effectiveness ratios were higher due to greater health service costs. Cost-effectiveness ratios were also higher in remote than in non-remote regions. The polypill was the most cost-effective intervention evaluated, while the community-based intervention produced the most health gain. Local and decision-making contextual factors are important in the conduct and interpretation of economic evaluations. For Australia's Indigenous population, different models of health service provision impact on reach and cost-effectiveness results. Both the extent of health gain and cost-effectiveness are important considerations for policy-makers in light of government objectives to address health inequities and bridge the health gap. Copyright © 2013 Australian and New Zealand Society of Cardiac and Thoracic Surgeons (ANZSCTS) and the Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand (CSANZ). All rights reserved.

  6. A Departmental Cost-Effectiveness Model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Holleman, Thomas, Jr.

    In establishing a departmental cost-effectiveness model, the traditional cost-effectiveness model was discussed and equipped with a distant and deflation equation for both benefits and costs. Next, the economics of costing was examined and program costing procedures developed. Then, the model construct was described as it was structured around the…

  7. Cost-effectiveness of canine vaccination to prevent human rabies in rural Tanzania.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fitzpatrick, Meagan C; Hampson, Katie; Cleaveland, Sarah; Mzimbiri, Imam; Lankester, Felix; Lembo, Tiziana; Meyers, Lauren A; Paltiel, A David; Galvani, Alison P

    2014-01-21

    The annual mortality rate of human rabies in rural Africa is 3.6 deaths per 100 000 persons. Rabies can be prevented with prompt postexposure prophylaxis, but this is costly and often inaccessible in rural Africa. Because 99% of human exposures occur through rabid dogs, canine vaccination also prevents transmission of rabies to humans. To evaluate the cost-effectiveness of rabies control through annual canine vaccination campaigns in rural sub-Saharan Africa. We model transmission dynamics in dogs and wildlife and assess empirical uncertainty in the biological variables to make probability-based evaluations of cost-effectiveness. Epidemiologic variables from a contact-tracing study and literature and cost data from ongoing vaccination campaigns. Two districts of rural Tanzania: Ngorongoro and Serengeti. 10 years. Health policymaker. Vaccination coverage ranging from 0% to 95% in increments of 5%. Life-years for health outcomes and 2010 U.S. dollars for economic outcomes. Annual canine vaccination campaigns were very cost-effective in both districts compared with no canine vaccination. In Serengeti, annual campaigns with as much as 70% coverage were cost-saving. Across a wide range of variable assumptions and levels of societal willingness to pay for life-years, the optimal vaccination coverage for Serengeti was 70%. In Ngorongoro, although optimal coverage depended on willingness to pay, vaccination campaigns were always cost-effective and lifesaving and therefore preferred. Canine vaccination was very cost-effective in both districts, but there was greater uncertainty about the optimal coverage in Ngorongoro. Annual canine rabies vaccination campaigns conferred extraordinary value and dramatically reduced the health burden of rabies. National Institutes of Health.

  8. [Clinical study using activity-based costing to assess cost-effectiveness of a wound management system utilizing modern dressings in comparison with traditional wound care].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ohura, Takehiko; Sanada, Hiromi; Mino, Yoshio

    2004-01-01

    In recent years, the concept of cost-effectiveness, including medical delivery and health service fee systems, has become widespread in Japanese health care. In the field of pressure ulcer management, the recent introduction of penalty subtraction in the care fee system emphasizes the need for prevention and cost-effective care of pressure ulcer. Previous cost-effectiveness research on pressure ulcer management tended to focus only on "hardware" costs such as those for pharmaceuticals and medical supplies, while neglecting other cost aspects, particularly those involving the cost of labor. Thus, cost-effectiveness in pressure ulcer care has not yet been fully established. To provide true cost effectiveness data, a comparative prospective study was initiated in patients with stage II and III pressure ulcers. Considering the potential impact of the pressure reduction mattress on clinical outcome, in particular, the same type of pressure reduction mattresses are utilized in all the cases in the study. The cost analysis method used was Activity-Based Costing, which measures material and labor cost aspects on a daily basis. A reduction in the Pressure Sore Status Tool (PSST) score was used to measure clinical effectiveness. Patients were divided into three groups based on the treatment method and on the use of a consistent algorithm of wound care: 1. MC/A group, modern dressings with a treatment algorithm (control cohort). 2. TC/A group, traditional care (ointment and gauze) with a treatment algorithm. 3. TC/NA group, traditional care (ointment and gauze) without a treatment algorithm. The results revealed that MC/A is more cost-effective than both TC/A and TC/NA. This suggests that appropriate utilization of modern dressing materials and a pressure ulcer care algorithm would contribute to reducing health care costs, improved clinical results, and, ultimately, greater cost-effectiveness.

  9. Biosimilar medicines and cost-effectiveness

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Steven Simoens

    2011-02-01

    Full Text Available Steven SimoensResearch Centre for Pharmaceutical Care and Pharmaco-economics, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Leuven, BelgiumAbstract: Given that biosimilars are agents that are similar but not identical to the reference biopharmaceutical, this study aims to introduce and describe specific issues related to the economic evaluation of biosimilars by focusing on the relative costs, relative effectiveness, and cost-effectiveness of biosimilars. Economic evaluation assesses the cost-effectiveness of a medicine by comparing the costs and outcomes of a medicine with those of a relevant comparator. The assessment of cost-effectiveness of a biosimilar is complicated by the fact that evidence needed to obtain marketing authorization from a registration authority does not always correspond to the data requirements of a reimbursement authority. In particular, this relates to the availability of adequately powered equivalence or noninferiority studies, the need for comparative data about the effectiveness in a real-world setting rather than the efficacy in a structured setting, and the use of health outcome measures instead of surrogate endpoints. As a biosimilar is likely to be less expensive than the comparator (eg, the reference biopharmaceutical, the assessment of the cost-effectiveness of a biosimilar depends on the relative effectiveness. If appropriately designed and powered clinical studies demonstrate equivalent effectiveness between a biosimilar and the comparator, then a cost-minimization analysis identifies the least expensive medicine. If there are differences in the effectiveness of a biosimilar and the comparator, other techniques of economic evaluation need to be employed, such as cost-effectiveness analysis or cost-utility analysis. Given that there may be uncertainty surrounding the long-term safety (ie, risk of immunogenicity and rare adverse events and effectiveness of a biosimilar, the cost-effectiveness

  10. Cost effectiveness of amoxicillin for lower respiratory tract infections in primary care: an economic evaluation accounting for the cost of antimicrobial resistance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oppong, Raymond; Smith, Richard D; Little, Paul; Verheij, Theo; Butler, Christopher C; Goossens, Herman; Coenen, Samuel; Moore, Michael; Coast, Joanna

    2016-09-01

    Lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs) are a major disease burden and are often treated with antibiotics. Typically, studies evaluating the use of antibiotics focus on immediate costs of care, and do not account for the wider implications of antimicrobial resistance. This study sought to establish whether antibiotics (principally amoxicillin) are cost effective in patients with LRTIs, and to explore the implications of taking into account costs associated with resistance. Multinational randomised double-blinded trial in 2060 patients with acute cough/LRTIs recruited in 12 European countries. A cost-utility analysis from a health system perspective with a time horizon of 28 days was conducted. The primary outcome measure was the quality-adjusted life year (QALY). Hierarchical modelling was used to estimate incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs). Amoxicillin was associated with an ICER of €8216 (£6540) per QALY gained when the cost of resistance was excluded. If the cost of resistance is greater than €11 (£9) per patient, then amoxicillin treatment is no longer cost effective. Including possible estimates of the cost of resistance resulted in ICERs ranging from €14 730 (£11 949) per QALY gained - when only multidrug resistance costs and health care costs are included - to €727 135 (£589 856) per QALY gained when broader societal costs are also included. Economic evaluation of antibiotic prescribing strategies that do not include the cost of resistance may provide misleading results that could be of questionable use to policymakers. However, further work is required to estimate robust costs of resistance. © British Journal of General Practice 2016.

  11. The effect of maternal substance abuse on the cost of neonatal care.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Norton, E C; Zarkin, G A; Calingaert, B; Bradley, C J

    1996-01-01

    This study addresses the effect of maternal substance abuse on the cost of neonatal care in a sample of all singleton live births in Maryland in 1991. Most other cost studies have analyzed data from only one hospital; we analyzed data from 54 hospitals and therefore can control for individual hospital effects and correlation of observations within hospitals. We find that maternal drug abuse has a significant positive effect on total hospital charges, length of stay, and average daily charges, with the increase in length of stay being proportionally greater than the increase in average daily charges. Maternal alcohol abuse also has a positive effect on hospital charges and length of stay, but the effects are not statistically significant. About half the effect of drug abuse on total charges works indirectly through premature birth and other comorbidities.

  12. Cost-effectiveness of human papillomavirus vaccination and cervical cancer screening in Thailand.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sharma, M; Ortendahl, J; van der Ham, E; Sy, S; Kim, J J

    2012-01-01

    To assess the health and economic outcomes of various screening and vaccination strategies for cervical cancer prevention. Cost-effectiveness analysis from a societal perspective. Thailand. Females aged 9 years and older. Using a mathematical model of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and cervical cancer, calibrated to epidemiological data from Thailand, we estimated the cost-effectiveness of pre-adolescent HPV vaccination, screening [visual inspection with acetic acid (VIA), HPV DNA testing, and cytology] between one and five times per lifetime in adulthood, and combined pre-adolescent vaccination and screening. Vaccine efficacy, coverage, cost, and screening frequency were varied in sensitivity analyses. Incremental cost-effectiveness ratios, expressed as cost per year of life saved (YLS). Assuming lifelong efficacy and 80% coverage, pre-adolescent HPV vaccination alone was projected to reduce the lifetime risk of cervical cancer by 55%, which was greater than any strategy of screening alone. When cost per vaccinated girl was I$10 (approximately $2 per dose) or less, HPV vaccination alone was cost saving. Pre-adolescent vaccination and HPV DNA testing five times per lifetime, starting at age 35 years, reduced the lifetime cervical cancer risk by 70%, and had a cost-effectiveness ratio less than Thailand's GDP per capita (I$8100), provided the cost per vaccinated girl was I$200 or less. Low cost pre-adolescent HPV vaccination followed by HPV screening five times per lifetime is an efficient strategy for Thailand. Costs may need to be lower, however, for this strategy to be affordable. If vaccination is not feasible, HPV DNA testing five times per lifetime is efficient. © 2011 The Authors BJOG An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology © 2011 RCOG.

  13. Improving the quality of pressure ulcer care with prevention: a cost-effectiveness analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Padula, William V; Mishra, Manish K; Makic, Mary Beth F; Sullivan, Patrick W

    2011-04-01

    In October 2008, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services discontinued reimbursement for hospital-acquired pressure ulcers (HAPUs), thus placing stress on hospitals to prevent incidence of this costly condition. To evaluate whether prevention methods are cost-effective compared with standard care in the management of HAPUs. A semi-Markov model simulated the admission of patients to an acute care hospital from the time of admission through 1 year using the societal perspective. The model simulated health states that could potentially lead to an HAPU through either the practice of "prevention" or "standard care." Univariate sensitivity analyses, threshold analyses, and Bayesian multivariate probabilistic sensitivity analysis using 10,000 Monte Carlo simulations were conducted. Cost per quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) gained for the prevention of HAPUs. Prevention was cost saving and resulted in greater expected effectiveness compared with the standard care approach per hospitalization. The expected cost of prevention was $7276.35, and the expected effectiveness was 11.241 QALYs. The expected cost for standard care was $10,053.95, and the expected effectiveness was 9.342 QALYs. The multivariate probabilistic sensitivity analysis showed that prevention resulted in cost savings in 99.99% of the simulations. The threshold cost of prevention was $821.53 per day per person, whereas the cost of prevention was estimated to be $54.66 per day per person. This study suggests that it is more cost effective to pay for prevention of HAPUs compared with standard care. Continuous preventive care of HAPUs in acutely ill patients could potentially reduce incidence and prevalence, as well as lead to lower expenditures.

  14. Cost-effectiveness of nutritional intervention on healing of pressure ulcers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hisashige, Akinori; Ohura, Takehiko

    2012-12-01

    Pressure ulcers not only affect quality of life among the elderly, but also bring a large economic burden. There is limited evidence available for the effectiveness of nutritional interventions for treatment of pressure ulcers. In Japan, recently, a 60-patient randomized controlled trial of nutritional intervention on pressure ulcers demonstrated improvement in healing of pressure ulcers, compared with conventional management. To evaluate value for money of nutritional intervention on healing of pressure ulcers, cost-effective analysis was carried out using these trial results. The analysis was carried out from a societal perspective. As effectiveness measures, pressure ulcer days (PUDs) and quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) were estimated. Prevalence of pressure ulcers was estimated by the Kaplan-Meier method. Utility score for pressure ulcers is derived from a cross-sectional survey among health professionals related to pressure ulcers. Costs (e.g., nutritional interventions and management of pressure ulcers) were estimated from trial data during observation and follow-up. Stochastic and qualitative sensitivity analyses were performed to examine the robustness of results. For observation (12 weeks) and follow-up (12-week observation plus 4-week follow-up), nutritional intervention reduced PUDs by 9.6 and 16.2 per person, and gained 0.226 × 10(-2) QALYs and 0.382 × 10(-2) QALYs per person, respectively. In addition, costs were reduced by $542 and $881 per person, respectively. This means nutritional intervention is dominant (cost savings and greater effectiveness). The sensitivity analyses showed the robustness of these results. Economic evaluation of nutritional intervention on healing pressure ulcers from a small randomized controlled trial showed that this intervention is cost saving with health improvement. Further studies are required to determine whether this is a cost-effective intervention for widespread use. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd and

  15. Cost-effectiveness of using small vertebrates as indicators of disturbance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peck, Mika Robert; Maddock, Simon T; Morales, Jorge Noe; Oñate, Hugolino; Mafla-Endara, Paola; Peñafiel, Vanessa Aguirre; Torres-Carvajal, Omar; Pozo-Rivera, Wilmer E; Cueva-Arroyo, Xavier A; Tolhurst, Bryony A

    2014-10-01

    In species-rich tropical forests, effective biodiversity management demands measures of progress, yet budgetary limitations typically constrain capacity of decision makers to assess response of biological communities to habitat change. One approach is to identify ecological-disturbance indicator species (EDIS) whose monitoring is also monetarily cost-effective. These species can be identified by determining individual species' responses to disturbance across a gradient; however, such responses may be confounded by factors other than disturbance. For example, in mountain environments the effects of anthropogenic habitat alteration are commonly confounded by elevation. EDIS have been identified with the indicator value (IndVal) metric, but there are weaknesses in the application of this approach in complex montane systems. We surveyed birds, small mammals, bats, and leaf-litter lizards in differentially disturbed cloud forest of the Ecuadorian Andes. We then incorporated elevation in generalized linear (mixed) models (GL(M)M) to screen for EDIS in the data set. Finally, we used rarefaction of species accumulation data to compare relative monetary costs of identifying and monitoring EDIS at equal sampling effort, based on species richness. Our GL(M)M generated greater numbers of EDIS but fewer characteristic species relative to IndVal. In absolute terms birds were the most cost-effective of the 4 taxa surveyed. We found one low-cost bird EDIS. In terms of the number of indicators generated as a proportion of species richness, EDIS of small mammals were the most cost-effective. Our approach has the potential to be a useful tool for facilitating more sustainable management of Andean forest systems. © 2014 Society for Conservation Biology.

  16. [Cost-effectiveness of addiction care].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Suijkerbuijk, A W M; van Gils, P F; Greeven, P G J; de Wit, G A

    2015-01-01

    A large number of interventions are available for the treatment of addiction. Professionals need to know about the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of interventions so they can prioritise appropriate interventions for the treatment of addiction. To provide an overview of the scientific literature on the cost-effectiveness of addiction treatment for alcohol- and drug-abusers. We searched the databases Medline and Centre for Reviews and Dissemination. To be relevant for our study, articles had to focus on interventions in the health-care setting, have a Western context and have a health-related outcome measure such as quality adjusted life years (QALY). Twenty-nine studies met our inclusion criteria: 15 for alcohol and 14 for drugs. The studies on alcohol addiction related mainly to brief interventions. They proved to be cost-saving or had a favourable incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER), remaining below the threshold of € 20,000 per QALY. The studies on drug addiction all involved pharmacotherapeutic interventions. In the case of 10 out of 14 interventions, the ICER was less than € 20,000 per QALY. Almost all of the interventions studied were cost-saving or cost-effective. Many studies consider only health-care costs. Additional research, for instance using a social cost-benefit analysis, could provide more details about the costs of addiction and about the impact that an intervention could have in these/the costs.

  17. A methodological framework for assessing agreement between cost-effectiveness outcomes estimated using alternative sources of data on treatment costs and effects for trial-based economic evaluations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Achana, Felix; Petrou, Stavros; Khan, Kamran; Gaye, Amadou; Modi, Neena

    2018-01-01

    A new methodological framework for assessing agreement between cost-effectiveness endpoints generated using alternative sources of data on treatment costs and effects for trial-based economic evaluations is proposed. The framework can be used to validate cost-effectiveness endpoints generated from routine data sources when comparable data is available directly from trial case report forms or from another source. We illustrate application of the framework using data from a recent trial-based economic evaluation of the probiotic Bifidobacterium breve strain BBG administered to babies less than 31 weeks of gestation. Cost-effectiveness endpoints are compared using two sources of information; trial case report forms and data extracted from the National Neonatal Research Database (NNRD), a clinical database created through collaborative efforts of UK neonatal services. Focusing on mean incremental net benefits at £30,000 per episode of sepsis averted, the study revealed no evidence of discrepancy between the data sources (two-sided p values >0.4), low probability estimates of miscoverage (ranging from 0.039 to 0.060) and concordance correlation coefficients greater than 0.86. We conclude that the NNRD could potentially serve as a reliable source of data for future trial-based economic evaluations of neonatal interventions. We also discuss the potential implications of increasing opportunity to utilize routinely available data for the conduct of trial-based economic evaluations.

  18. Cost effectiveness of amoxicillin for lower respiratory tract infections in primary care: an economic evaluation accounting for the cost of antimicrobial resistance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oppong, Raymond; Smith, Richard D; Little, Paul; Verheij, Theo; Butler, Christopher C; Goossens, Herman; Coenen, Samuel; Moore, Michael; Coast, Joanna

    2016-01-01

    Background Lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs) are a major disease burden and are often treated with antibiotics. Typically, studies evaluating the use of antibiotics focus on immediate costs of care, and do not account for the wider implications of antimicrobial resistance. Aim This study sought to establish whether antibiotics (principally amoxicillin) are cost effective in patients with LRTIs, and to explore the implications of taking into account costs associated with resistance. Design and setting Multinational randomised double-blinded trial in 2060 patients with acute cough/LRTIs recruited in 12 European countries. Method A cost-utility analysis from a health system perspective with a time horizon of 28 days was conducted. The primary outcome measure was the quality-adjusted life year (QALY). Hierarchical modelling was used to estimate incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs). Results Amoxicillin was associated with an ICER of €8216 (£6540) per QALY gained when the cost of resistance was excluded. If the cost of resistance is greater than €11 (£9) per patient, then amoxicillin treatment is no longer cost effective. Including possible estimates of the cost of resistance resulted in ICERs ranging from €14 730 (£11 949) per QALY gained — when only multidrug resistance costs and health care costs are included — to €727 135 (£589 856) per QALY gained when broader societal costs are also included. Conclusion Economic evaluation of antibiotic prescribing strategies that do not include the cost of resistance may provide misleading results that could be of questionable use to policymakers. However, further work is required to estimate robust costs of resistance. PMID:27402969

  19. Evaluation of the Effectiveness and Cost-Effectiveness of Personalized Surveillance After Colorectal Adenomatous Polypectomy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McFerran, Ethna; O'Mahony, James F; Fallis, Richard; McVicar, Duncan; Zauber, Ann G; Kee, Frank

    2017-01-01

    Lifetime risk of developing colorectal cancer is 5%, and 5-year survival at early stage is 92%. Individuals with precancerous lesions removed at primary screening are typically recommended surveillance colonoscopy. Because greater benefits are anticipated for those with higher risk of colorectal cancer, scope for risk-specific surveillance recommendations exists. This review assesses published cost-effectiveness estimates of postpolypectomy surveillance to consider the potential for personalized recommendations by risk group. Meta-analyses of incidence of advanced neoplasia postpolypectomy for low-risk cases were comparable to those without adenoma, with both rates under the lifetime risk of 5%. This group may not benefit from intensive surveillance, which risks unnecessary harm and inefficient use of often scarce colonoscopy capacity. Therefore, greater personalization through deintensified strategies for low-risk individuals could be beneficial. The potential for noninvasive testing, such as fecal immunochemical tests, combined with primary prevention or chemoprevention may reserve colonoscopy for targeted use in personalized risk-stratified surveillance. This review appraised evidence supporting a program of personalized surveillance in patients with colorectal adenoma according to risk group and compared the effectiveness of surveillance colonoscopy with alternative prevention strategies. It assessed trade-offs among costs, benefits, and adverse effects that must be considered in a decision to adopt or reject personalized surveillance. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  20. The Interpersonal Sunk-Cost Effect.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Olivola, Christopher Y

    2018-05-01

    The sunk-cost fallacy-pursuing an inferior alternative merely because we have previously invested significant, but nonrecoverable, resources in it-represents a striking violation of rational decision making. Whereas theoretical accounts and empirical examinations of the sunk-cost effect have generally been based on the assumption that it is a purely intrapersonal phenomenon (i.e., solely driven by one's own past investments), the present research demonstrates that it is also an interpersonal effect (i.e., people will alter their choices in response to other people's past investments). Across eight experiments ( N = 6,076) covering diverse scenarios, I documented sunk-cost effects when the costs are borne by someone other than the decision maker. Moreover, the interpersonal sunk-cost effect is not moderated by social closeness or whether other people observe their sunk costs being "honored." These findings uncover a previously undocumented bias, reveal that the sunk-cost effect is a much broader phenomenon than previously thought, and pose interesting challenges for existing accounts of this fascinating human tendency.

  1. Health economic studies: an introduction to cost-benefit, cost-effectiveness, and cost-utility analyses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Angevine, Peter D; Berven, Sigurd

    2014-10-15

    Narrative overview. To provide clinicians with a basic understanding of economic studies, including cost-benefit, cost-effectiveness, and cost-utility analyses. As decisions regarding public health policy, insurance reimbursement, and patient care incorporate factors other than traditional outcomes such as satisfaction or symptom resolution, health economic studies are increasingly prominent in the literature. This trend will likely continue, and it is therefore important for clinicians to have a fundamental understanding of the common types of economic studies and be able to read them critically. In this brief article, the basic concepts of economic studies and the differences between cost-benefit, cost-effectiveness, and cost-utility studies are discussed. An overview of the field of health economic analysis is presented. Cost-benefit, cost-effectiveness, and cost-utility studies all integrate cost and outcome data into a decision analysis model. These different types of studies are distinguished mainly by the way in which outcomes are valued. Obtaining accurate cost data is often difficult and can limit the generalizability of a study. With a basic understanding of health economic analysis, clinicians can be informed consumers of these important studies.

  2. 42 CFR 457.1015 - Cost-effectiveness.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 42 Public Health 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Cost-effectiveness. 457.1015 Section 457.1015... Waivers: General Provisions § 457.1015 Cost-effectiveness. (a) Definition. For purposes of this subpart... may demonstrate cost-effectiveness by comparing the cost of coverage for the family to the cost of...

  3. Higher motivation - greater control? The effect of arousal on judgement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Riemer, Hila; Viswanathan, Madhu

    2013-01-01

    This research examines control over the effect of arousal, a dimension of affect, on judgement. Past research shows that high processing motivation enhances control over the effects of affect on judgement. Isolating and studying arousal as opposed to valence, the other dimension of affect, and its effect on judgement, we identify boundary conditions for past findings. Drawing from the literature on processes by which arousal influences judgement, we demonstrate that the role of motivation is contingent upon the type of judgement task (i.e., memory- versus stimulus-based judgement). In stimulus-based judgement, individuals exert greater control over the effect of arousal on judgement under low compared to high motivation. In contrast, in memory-based judgement individuals exert greater control over the effect of arousal under high compared to low motivation. Theoretical implications and avenues for future research are discussed.

  4. Cost effectiveness analysis in radiopharmacy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Carpentier, N.; Verbeke, S.; Ducloux, T.

    1999-01-01

    Objective: to evaluate the cost effectiveness of radiopharmaceuticals and their quality control. Materials and methods: this retrospective study was made in the Nuclear Medicine Department of the University Hospital of Limoges. Radiopharmaceutical costs were obtained with adding the price of the radiotracer, the materials, the equipments, the labour, the running expenses and the radioisotope. The costs of quality control were obtained with adding the price of labour, materials, equipments, running expenses and the cost of the quality control of 99m Tc eluate. Results: during 1998, 2106 radiopharmaceuticals were prepared in the Nuclear Medicine Department. The mean cost effectiveness of radiopharmaceutical was 1430 francs (846 to 4260). The mean cost effectiveness of quality control was 163 francs (84 to 343). The rise of the radiopharmaceutical cost induced by quality control was 11%. Conclusion: the technical methodology of quality control must be mastered to optimize the cost of this operation. (author)

  5. The cost-effectiveness of TheraBite® as treatment for acute myogenic temporomandibular disorder

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Heres Diddens, A.; Kraaijenga, S.; Coupe, V.; Hilgers, F.; van der Molen, L.; Smeele, L.; Retèl, V.P.

    2017-01-01

    Objective: Temporomandibular disorder (TMD) is a very common and costly pain problem concerning the temporomandibular joint. A previous study has shown that for the treatment of acute myogenic TMD, TheraBite® (TB) offers a faster and greater effect than usual care consisting of physical therapy

  6. CT colonography and cost-effectiveness

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mavranezouli, Ifigeneia [University College London, National Collaborating Centre for Mental Health, Centre for Outcomes Research and Effectiveness, Sub-department of Clinical Health Psychology, London (United Kingdom); East, James E. [St Marks Hospital, Imperial College London, Wolfson Unit for Endoscopy, London (United Kingdom); Taylor, Stuart A. [University College Hospital, Specialist X-Ray, London (United Kingdom); University College Hospital, Department of Imaging, London (United Kingdom)

    2008-11-15

    CT colonography (CTC) is increasingly advocated as an effective initial screening tool for colorectal cancer. Nowadays, policy-makers are increasingly interested in cost-effectiveness issues. A number of studies assessing the cost-effectiveness of CTC have been published to date. The majority of findings indicate that CTC is probably not cost-effective when colonoscopy is available, but this conclusion is sensitive to a number of key parameters. This review discusses the findings of these studies, and considers those factors which most influence final conclusions, notably intervention costs, compliance rates, effectiveness of colonoscopy, and the assumed prevalence and natural history of diminutive advanced polyps. (orig.)

  7. CT colonography and cost-effectiveness

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mavranezouli, Ifigeneia; East, James E.; Taylor, Stuart A.

    2008-01-01

    CT colonography (CTC) is increasingly advocated as an effective initial screening tool for colorectal cancer. Nowadays, policy-makers are increasingly interested in cost-effectiveness issues. A number of studies assessing the cost-effectiveness of CTC have been published to date. The majority of findings indicate that CTC is probably not cost-effective when colonoscopy is available, but this conclusion is sensitive to a number of key parameters. This review discusses the findings of these studies, and considers those factors which most influence final conclusions, notably intervention costs, compliance rates, effectiveness of colonoscopy, and the assumed prevalence and natural history of diminutive advanced polyps. (orig.)

  8. Costs and cost-effectiveness of pediatric inguinal hernia repair in Uganda.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eeson, Gareth; Birabwa-Male, Doreen; Pennington, Mark; Blair, Geoffrey K

    2015-02-01

    Surgically treatable diseases contribute approximately 11% of disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) worldwide yet they remain a neglected public health priority in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Pediatric inguinal hernia is the most common congenital abnormality in newborns and a major cause of morbidity and mortality yet elective repair remains largely unavailable in LMICs. This study is aimed to determine the costs and cost-effectiveness of pediatric inguinal hernia repair (PIHR) in a low-resource setting. Medical costs of consecutive elective PIHRs were recorded prospectively at two centers in Uganda. Decision modeling was used to compare two different treatment scenarios (adoption of PIHR and non-adoption) from a provider perspective. A Markov model was constructed to estimate health outcomes under each scenario. The robustness of the cost-effectiveness results in the base case analysis was tested in one-way and probabilistic sensitivity analysis. The primary outcome of interest was cost per DALY averted by the intervention. Sixty-nine PIHRs were performed in 65 children (mean age 3.6 years). Mean cost per procedure was $86.68 US (95% CI 83.1-90.2 USD) and averted an average of 5.7 DALYs each. Incremental cost-effectiveness ratio was $12.41 per DALY averted. The probability of cost-effectiveness was 95% at a cost-effectiveness threshold of $35 per averted DALY. Results were robust to sensitivity analysis under all considered scenarios. Elective PIHR is highly cost-effective for the treatment and prevention of complications of hernia disease even in low-resource settings. PIHR should be prioritized in LMICs alongside other cost-effective interventions.

  9. A cost-effectiveness analysis to illustrate the impact of cost definitions on results, interpretations and comparability of pharmacoeconomic studies in the US.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tunis, Sandra L

    2009-01-01

    There is a lack of a uniform proxy for defining direct medical costs in the US. This potentially important source of variation in modelling and other types of economic studies is often overlooked. The extent to which increased expenditures for an intervention can be offset by reductions in subsequent service costs can be directly related to the choice of cost definitions. To demonstrate how different cost definitions for direct medical costs can impact results and interpretations of a cost-effectiveness analysis. The IMS-CORE Diabetes Model was used to project the lifetime (35-year) cost effectiveness in the US of one pharmacological intervention 'medication A' compared with a second 'medication B' (both unspecified) for type 2 diabetes mellitus. The complications modelled included cardiovascular disease, renal disease, eye disease and neuropathy. The model had a Markov structure with Monte Carlo simulations. Utility values were derived from the published literature. Complication costs were obtained from a retrospective database study that extracted anonymous patient-level data from (primarily private payer) adjudicated medical and pharmaceutical claims. Costs for pharmacy services, outpatient services and inpatient hospitalizations were included. Cost definitions for complications included charged, allowed and paid amounts, and for medications included both wholesale acquisition cost (WAC) and average wholesale price (AWP). Costs were reported in year 2007 values. The cost-effectiveness results differed according to the particular combination of cost definitions employed. The use of charges greatly increased costs for complications. When the analysis incorporated WAC medication prices with charged amounts for complication costs, the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) for medication A versus medication B was $US6337 per QALY. When AWP prices were used with charged amounts, medication A became a dominant treatment strategy, i.e. lower costs with greater

  10. Effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of antidepressants in primary care: a multiple treatment comparison meta-analysis and cost-effectiveness model.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Joakim Ramsberg

    Full Text Available OBJECTIVE: To determine effectiveness and cost-effectiveness over a one-year time horizon of pharmacological first line treatment in primary care for patients with moderate to severe depression. DESIGN: A multiple treatment comparison meta-analysis was employed to determine the relative efficacy in terms of remission of 10 antidepressants (citalopram, duloxetine escitalopram, fluoxetine, fluvoxamine mirtazapine, paroxetine, reboxetine, sertraline and venlafaxine. The estimated remission rates were then applied in a decision-analytic model in order to estimate costs and quality of life with different treatments at one year. DATA SOURCES: Meta-analyses of remission rates from randomised controlled trials, and cost and quality-of-life data from published sources. RESULTS: The most favourable pharmacological treatment in terms of remission was escitalopram with an 8- to 12-week probability of remission of 0.47. Despite a high acquisition cost, this clinical effectiveness translated into escitalopram being both more effective and having a lower total cost than all other comparators from a societal perspective. From a healthcare perspective, the cost per QALY of escitalopram was €3732 compared with venlafaxine. CONCLUSION: Of the investigated antidepressants, escitalopram has the highest probability of remission and is the most effective and cost-effective pharmacological treatment in a primary care setting, when evaluated over a one year time-horizon. Small differences in remission rates may be important when assessing costs and cost-effectiveness of antidepressants.

  11. Costs and cost-effectiveness of malaria control interventions - a systematic review

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    White Michael T

    2011-11-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The control and elimination of malaria requires expanded coverage of and access to effective malaria control interventions such as insecticide-treated nets (ITNs, indoor residual spraying (IRS, intermittent preventive treatment (IPT, diagnostic testing and appropriate treatment. Decisions on how to scale up the coverage of these interventions need to be based on evidence of programme effectiveness, equity and cost-effectiveness. Methods A systematic review of the published literature on the costs and cost-effectiveness of malaria interventions was undertaken. All costs and cost-effectiveness ratios were inflated to 2009 USD to allow comparison of the costs and benefits of several different interventions through various delivery channels, across different geographical regions and from varying costing perspectives. Results Fifty-five studies of the costs and forty three studies of the cost-effectiveness of malaria interventions were identified, 78% of which were undertaken in sub-Saharan Africa, 18% in Asia and 4% in South America. The median financial cost of protecting one person for one year was $2.20 (range $0.88-$9.54 for ITNs, $6.70 (range $2.22-$12.85 for IRS, $0.60 (range $0.48-$1.08 for IPT in infants, $4.03 (range $1.25-$11.80 for IPT in children, and $2.06 (range $0.47-$3.36 for IPT in pregnant women. The median financial cost of diagnosing a case of malaria was $4.32 (range $0.34-$9.34. The median financial cost of treating an episode of uncomplicated malaria was $5.84 (range $2.36-$23.65 and the median financial cost of treating an episode of severe malaria was $30.26 (range $15.64-$137.87. Economies of scale were observed in the implementation of ITNs, IRS and IPT, with lower unit costs reported in studies with larger numbers of beneficiaries. From a provider perspective, the median incremental cost effectiveness ratio per disability adjusted life year averted was $27 (range $8.15-$110 for ITNs, $143 (range $135

  12. Cost benefit analysis cost effectiveness analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lombard, J.

    1986-09-01

    The comparison of various protection options in order to determine which is the best compromise between cost of protection and residual risk is the purpose of the ALARA procedure. The use of decision-aiding techniques is valuable as an aid to selection procedures. The purpose of this study is to introduce two rather simple and well known decision aiding techniques: the cost-effectiveness analysis and the cost-benefit analysis. These two techniques are relevant for the great part of ALARA decisions which need the use of a quantitative technique. The study is based on an hypothetical case of 10 protection options. Four methods are applied to the data

  13. Methods for the estimation of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence cost-effectiveness threshold.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Claxton, Karl; Martin, Steve; Soares, Marta; Rice, Nigel; Spackman, Eldon; Hinde, Sebastian; Devlin, Nancy; Smith, Peter C; Sculpher, Mark

    2015-02-01

    Cost-effectiveness analysis involves the comparison of the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of a new technology, which is more costly than existing alternatives, with the cost-effectiveness threshold. This indicates whether or not the health expected to be gained from its use exceeds the health expected to be lost elsewhere as other health-care activities are displaced. The threshold therefore represents the additional cost that has to be imposed on the system to forgo 1 quality-adjusted life-year (QALY) of health through displacement. There are no empirical estimates of the cost-effectiveness threshold used by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. (1) To provide a conceptual framework to define the cost-effectiveness threshold and to provide the basis for its empirical estimation. (2) Using programme budgeting data for the English NHS, to estimate the relationship between changes in overall NHS expenditure and changes in mortality. (3) To extend this mortality measure of the health effects of a change in expenditure to life-years and to QALYs by estimating the quality-of-life (QoL) associated with effects on years of life and the additional direct impact on QoL itself. (4) To present the best estimate of the cost-effectiveness threshold for policy purposes. Earlier econometric analysis estimated the relationship between differences in primary care trust (PCT) spending, across programme budget categories (PBCs), and associated disease-specific mortality. This research is extended in several ways including estimating the impact of marginal increases or decreases in overall NHS expenditure on spending in each of the 23 PBCs. Further stages of work link the econometrics to broader health effects in terms of QALYs. The most relevant 'central' threshold is estimated to be £12,936 per QALY (2008 expenditure, 2008-10 mortality). Uncertainty analysis indicates that the probability that the threshold is effects of changes in expenditure are greater

  14. The ability of land owners and their cooperatives to leverage payments greater than opportunity costs from conservation contracts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lennox, Gareth D; Armsworth, Paul R

    2013-06-01

    In negotiations over land-right acquisitions, landowners have an informational advantage over conservation groups because they know more about the opportunity costs of conservation measures on their sites. This advantage creates the possibility that landowners will demand payments greater than the required minimum, where this minimum required payment is known as the landowner’s willingness to accept (WTA). However, in recent studies of conservation costs, researchers have assumed landowners will accept conservation with minimum payments. We investigated the ability of landowners to demand payments above their WTA when a conservation group has identified multiple sites for protection. First, we estimated the maximum payment landowners could potentially demand, which is set when groups of landowners act as a cooperative. Next, through the simulation of conservation auctions, we explored the amount of money above landowners’ WTA (i.e., surplus) that conservation groups could cede to secure conservation agreements, again investigating the influence of landowner cooperatives. The simulations showed the informational advantage landowners held could make conservation investments up to 42% more expensive than suggested by the site WTAs. Moreover, all auctions resulted in landowners obtaining payments greater than their WTA; thus, it may be unrealistic to assume landowners will accept conservation contracts with minimum payments. Of particular significance for species conservation, conservation objectives focused on overall species richness,which therefore recognize site complementarity, create an incentive for land owners to form cooperatives to capture surplus. To the contrary, objectives in which sites are substitutes, such as the maximization of species occurrences, create a disincentive for cooperative formation.

  15. Cost and cost-effectiveness of conventional and liquid-based ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Methods. The unit of effectiveness was defined as the number of cervical intraepithelial neoplasm (CIN) II or higher lesions detected. Costs were assessed retrospectively for the financial year (2010/11) from a laboratory service provider perspective. A cost-effectiveness analysis was performed by combining secondary data ...

  16. Costs and effects in lumbar spinal fusion

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Soegaard, Rikke; Christensen, Finn Bjarke; Christiansen, Terkel

    2007-01-01

    of the Dallas Pain Questionnaire and the Low Back Pain Rating Scale at baseline and 2 years postoperatively. Regression models were used to reveal determinants for costs and effects. Costs and effects were analyzed as a net-benefit measure to reveal determinants for cost-effectiveness, and finally, adjusted...... areas. Multi-level fusion and surgical technique significantly affected the net-benefit as well. Surprisingly, no correlation was found between treatment costs and treatment effects. Incremental analysis suggested that the probability of posterior instrumentation being cost-effective was limited......Although cost-effectiveness is becoming the foremost evaluative criterion within health service management of spine surgery, scientific knowledge about cost-patterns and cost-effectiveness is limited. The aims of this study were (1) to establish an activity-based method for costing at the patient...

  17. Cost Effectiveness of Screening Colonoscopy Depends on Adequate Bowel Preparation Rates - A Modeling Study.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    James Kingsley

    Full Text Available Inadequate bowel preparation during screening colonoscopy necessitates repeating colonoscopy. Studies suggest inadequate bowel preparation rates of 20-60%. This increases the cost of colonoscopy for our society.The aim of this study is to determine the impact of inadequate bowel preparation rate on the cost effectiveness of colonoscopy compared to other screening strategies for colorectal cancer (CRC.A microsimulation model of CRC screening strategies for the general population at average risk for CRC. The strategies include fecal immunochemistry test (FIT every year, colonoscopy every ten years, sigmoidoscopy every five years, or stool DNA test every 3 years. The screening could be performed at private practice offices, outpatient hospitals, and ambulatory surgical centers.At the current assumed inadequate bowel preparation rate of 25%, the cost of colonoscopy as a screening strategy is above society's willingness to pay (<$50,000/QALY. Threshold analysis demonstrated that an inadequate bowel preparation rate of 13% or less is necessary before colonoscopy is considered more cost effective than FIT. At inadequate bowel preparation rates of 25%, colonoscopy is still more cost effective compared to sigmoidoscopy and stool DNA test. Sensitivity analysis of all inputs adjusted by ±10% showed incremental cost effectiveness ratio values were influenced most by the specificity, adherence, and sensitivity of FIT and colonoscopy.Screening colonoscopy is not a cost effective strategy when compared with fecal immunochemical test, as long as the inadequate bowel preparation rate is greater than 13%.

  18. Effect of the Building Act 2011 on compliance costs in Western Australia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elizabeth Bazen

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available  The Building Act 2011 commenced in Western Australia on 2 April 2012. It introduced private certification for design and construction compliance, and reduced fees and timeframes for local governments to issue permits. This research project assessed the effect of the Act on the time and cost of building approvals in WA, using an internet-based, self-completion survey to obtain feedback from people on their experience of the new building approvals process.   This research compared the cost of approval for 16 building projects under the new and old approvals processes. The research concluded that the new approvals process appears to be cost-neutral for the building industry as a whole. However, the cost of approval for the 11 building projects studied valued up to $1 million, particularly alterations to existing buildings, is an average of 4.0 times greater under the new approvals process.

  19. The costs and cost-effectiveness of an integrated sepsis treatment protocol.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Talmor, Daniel; Greenberg, Dan; Howell, Michael D; Lisbon, Alan; Novack, Victor; Shapiro, Nathan

    2008-04-01

    Sepsis is associated with high mortality and treatment costs. International guidelines recommend the implementation of integrated sepsis protocols; however, the true cost and cost-effectiveness of these are unknown. To assess the cost-effectiveness of an integrated sepsis protocol, as compared with conventional care. Prospective cohort study of consecutive patients presenting with septic shock and enrolled in the institution's integrated sepsis protocol. Clinical and economic outcomes were compared with a historical control cohort. Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. Overall, 79 patients presenting to the emergency department with septic shock in the treatment cohort and 51 patients in the control group. An integrated sepsis treatment protocol incorporating empirical antibiotics, early goal-directed therapy, intensive insulin therapy, lung-protective ventilation, and consideration for drotrecogin alfa and steroid therapy. In-hospital treatment costs were collected using the hospital's detailed accounting system. The cost-effectiveness analysis was performed from the perspective of the healthcare system using a lifetime horizon. The primary end point for the cost-effectiveness analysis was the incremental cost per quality-adjusted life year gained. Mortality in the treatment group was 20.3% vs. 29.4% in the control group (p = .23). Implementing an integrated sepsis protocol resulted in a mean increase in cost of approximately $8,800 per patient, largely driven by increased intensive care unit length of stay. Life expectancy and quality-adjusted life years were higher in the treatment group; 0.78 and 0.54, respectively. The protocol was associated with an incremental cost of $11,274 per life-year saved and a cost of $16,309 per quality-adjusted life year gained. In patients with septic shock, an integrated sepsis protocol, although not cost-saving, appears to be cost-effective and compares very favorably to other commonly delivered acute care interventions.

  20. Cost-effectiveness of EOB-MRI for Hepatocellular Carcinoma in Japan.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nishie, Akihiro; Goshima, Satoshi; Haradome, Hiroki; Hatano, Etsuro; Imai, Yasuharu; Kudo, Masatoshi; Matsuda, Masanori; Motosugi, Utaroh; Saitoh, Satoshi; Yoshimitsu, Kengo; Crawford, Bruce; Kruger, Eliza; Ball, Graeme; Honda, Hiroshi

    2017-04-01

    The objective of the study was to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of gadoxetic acid-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (EOB-MRI) in the diagnosis and treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in Japan compared with extracellular contrast media-enhanced MRI (ECCM-MRI) and contrast media-enhanced computed tomography (CE-CT) scanning. A 6-stage Markov model was developed to estimate lifetime direct costs and clinical outcomes associated with EOB-MRI. Diagnostic sensitivity and specificity, along with clinical data on HCC survival, recurrence, treatment patterns, costs, and health state utility values, were derived from predominantly Japanese publications. Parameters unavailable from publications were estimated in a Delphi panel of Japanese clinical experts who also confirmed the structure and overall approach of the model. Sensitivity analyses, including one-way, probabilistic, and scenario analyses, were conducted to account for uncertainty in the results. Over a lifetime horizon, EOB-MRI was associated with lower direct costs (¥2,174,869) and generated a greater number of quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) (9.502) than either ECCM-MRI (¥2,365,421, 9.303 QALYs) or CE-CT (¥2,482,608, 9.215 QALYs). EOB-MRI was superior to the other diagnostic strategies considered, and this finding was robust over sensitivity and scenario analyses. A majority of the direct costs associated with HCC in Japan were found to be costs of treatment. The model results revealed the superior cost-effectiveness of the EOB-MRI diagnostic strategy compared with ECCM-MRI and CE-CT. EOB-MRI could be the first-choice imaging modality for medical care of HCC among patients with hepatitis or liver cirrhosis in Japan. Widespread implementation of EOB-MRI could reduce health care expenditures, particularly downstream treatment costs, associated with HCC. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier HS Journals, Inc. All rights reserved.

  1. 12 CFR 714.5 - What is required if you rely on an estimated residual value greater than 25% of the original cost...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 12 Banks and Banking 6 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false What is required if you rely on an estimated residual value greater than 25% of the original cost of the leased property? 714.5 Section 714.5 Banks and Banking NATIONAL CREDIT UNION ADMINISTRATION REGULATIONS AFFECTING CREDIT UNIONS LEASING § 714.5 What is...

  2. Cost-effectiveness thresholds: pros and cons.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bertram, Melanie Y; Lauer, Jeremy A; De Joncheere, Kees; Edejer, Tessa; Hutubessy, Raymond; Kieny, Marie-Paule; Hill, Suzanne R

    2016-12-01

    Cost-effectiveness analysis is used to compare the costs and outcomes of alternative policy options. Each resulting cost-effectiveness ratio represents the magnitude of additional health gained per additional unit of resources spent. Cost-effectiveness thresholds allow cost-effectiveness ratios that represent good or very good value for money to be identified. In 2001, the World Health Organization's Commission on Macroeconomics in Health suggested cost-effectiveness thresholds based on multiples of a country's per-capita gross domestic product (GDP). In some contexts, in choosing which health interventions to fund and which not to fund, these thresholds have been used as decision rules. However, experience with the use of such GDP-based thresholds in decision-making processes at country level shows them to lack country specificity and this - in addition to uncertainty in the modelled cost-effectiveness ratios - can lead to the wrong decision on how to spend health-care resources. Cost-effectiveness information should be used alongside other considerations - e.g. budget impact and feasibility considerations - in a transparent decision-making process, rather than in isolation based on a single threshold value. Although cost-effectiveness ratios are undoubtedly informative in assessing value for money, countries should be encouraged to develop a context-specific process for decision-making that is supported by legislation, has stakeholder buy-in, for example the involvement of civil society organizations and patient groups, and is transparent, consistent and fair.

  3. Effectiveness and cost effectiveness of counselling in primary care.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bower, P; Rowland, N; Mellor, C l; Heywood, P; Godfrey, C; Hardy, R

    2002-01-01

    % confidence intervals. Continuous data from different measuring instruments were transformed into a standard effect size by dividing mean values by standard deviations. In view of the diversity of counselling services in primary care (the range of treatments, patients and practitioners) tests of heterogeneity were done to assess the feasibility of aggregating measures of outcome from trials. Sensitivity analyses were undertaken to test the robustness of the results. Seven trials were included in the review. The main analyses showed significantly greater clinical effectiveness in the counselling group compared with 'usual care' in the short-term (standardised mean difference -0.28, 95% CI -0.43 to -0.13, n=772, 6 trials) but not the long-term (standardised mean difference -0.09, 95% CI -0.27 to 0.10, n=475, 4 trials). Levels of satisfaction with counselling were high. Four studies reported similar total costs associated with counselling and usual care over the long-term. However, the economic analyses were likely to be underpowered. Counselling is associated with modest improvement in short-term outcome compared to 'usual care', but provides no additional advantages in the long-term. Patients are satisfied with counselling, and it may not be associated with increased costs.

  4. The cost-effectiveness of cognitive behavioral therapy for bulimia nervosa in the Australian context.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Le, Long Khanh-Dao; Hay, Phillipa; Wade, Tracey; Touyz, Stephen; Mihalopoulos, Cathrine

    2017-12-01

    This study was to model the cost-effectiveness of specialist-delivered cognitive behavioral therapy for bulimia nervosa (CBT-BN) compared to no intervention within the Australian context. An illness-death model was developed to estimate the cost per disability-adjusted life-year (DALY) averted of CBT-BN over 2 years from the healthcare perspective. Target population was adults aged 18-65 years with BN. Results are reported as incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICER) in 2013 Australian dollars per DALY averted. Uncertainty and sensitivity analyses were conducted to test the robustness of results. Primary analysis indicated that CBT-BN was associated with greater DALY averted (0.10 DALY per person) and higher costs ($1,435 per person) than no intervention, resulting the mean ICER of $14,451 per DALY averted (95% uncertainty interval [UI]: $8,762 to $35,650). Uncertainty analysis indicated CBT-BN is 99% likely to be cost-effective at a threshold of $50,000 per DALY averted. Including the patients' time and travel costs resulted in the mean ICER of $18,858 per DALY averted (95% UI: $11,235 to $46,026). Sensitivity analysis indicated the intervention was not cost-effective if over 80% people discontinued treatment. Other analyses including a reduced time horizon, increased remission rates, and 4-month effect size of CBT-BN increases the ICERs but these ICERs remained well below under a threshold of $50,000 per DALY averted. This study has demonstrated that CBT-BN for adults with BN is a cost-effective treatment intervention. Further research is required to investigate the practicability of CBT-ED and the cost-effectiveness of other formats of CBT-BN delivery. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  5. Attitudes on cost-effectiveness and equity: a cross-sectional study examining the viewpoints of medical professionals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, David G; Wong, Gordon X; Martin, David T; Tybor, David J; Kim, Jennifer; Lasker, Jeffrey; Mitty, Roger; Salem, Deeb

    2017-08-01

    To determine the attitudes of physicians and trainees in regard to the roles of both cost-effectiveness and equity in clinical decision making. In this cross-sectional study, electronic surveys containing a hypothetical decision-making scenario were sent to medical professionals to select between two colon cancer screening tests for a population. Three Greater Boston academic medical institutions: Tufts University School of Medicine, Tufts Medical Centre and Lahey Hospital and Medical Centre. 819 medical students, 497 residents-in-training and 671 practising physicians were contacted electronically using institutional and organisational directories. Stratified opinions of medical providers and trainee subgroups regarding cost-effectiveness and equity. A total of 881 respondents comprising 512 medical students, 133 medical residents-in-training and 236 practising physicians completed the survey (total response rate 44.3%). Thirty-six per cent of medical students, 44% of residents-in-training and 53% of practising physicians favoured the less effective and more equitable screening test. Residents-in-training (OR 1.49, CI 1.01 to 2.21; p=0.044) and practising physicians (OR 2.12, CI 1.54 to 2.92; pmedical students. Moreover, female responders across all three cohorts favoured the more equitable screening test to a greater degree than did male responders (OR 1.70, CI 1.29 to 2.24; pmedical professionals place on equity. Among medical professionals, practising physicians appear to be more egalitarian than residents-in-training, while medical students appear to be most utilitarian and cost-effective. Meanwhile, female respondents in all three cohorts favoured the more equitable option to a greater degree than their male counterparts. Healthcare policies that trade off equity in favour of cost-effectiveness may be unacceptable to many medical professionals, especially practising physicians and women. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated

  6. Statin cost effectiveness in primary prevention: A systematic review of the recent cost-effectiveness literature in the United States

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mitchell Aaron P

    2012-07-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The literature on the cost-effectiveness of statin drugs in primary prevention of coronary heart disease is complex. The objective of this study is to compare the disparate results of recent cost-effectiveness analyses of statins. Findings We conducted a systematic review of the literature on statin cost-effectiveness. The four studies that met inclusion criteria reported varying conclusions about the cost-effectiveness of statin treatment, without a clear consensus as to whether statins are cost-effective for primary prevention. However, after accounting for each study’s assumptions about statin costs, we found substantial agreement among the studies. Studies that assumed statins to be more expensive found them to be less cost-effective, and vice-versa. Furthermore, treatment of low-risk groups became cost-effective as statins became less expensive. Conclusions Drug price is the primary determinant of statin cost-effectiveness within a given risk group. As more statin drugs become generic, patients at low risk for coronary disease may be treated cost-effectively. Though many factors must be weighed in any medical decision, from a cost-effectiveness perspective, statins may now be considered an appropriate therapy for many patients at low risk for heart disease.

  7. Effect of phenotype on health care costs in Crohn's disease: A European study using the Montreal classification.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Odes, Selwyn; Vardi, Hillel; Friger, Michael; Wolters, Frank; Hoie, Ole; Moum, Bjørn; Bernklev, Tomm; Yona, Hagit; Russel, Maurice; Munkholm, Pia; Langholz, Ebbe; Riis, Lene; Politi, Patrizia; Bondini, Paolo; Tsianos, Epameinondas; Katsanos, Kostas; Clofent, Juan; Vermeire, Severine; Freitas, João; Mouzas, Iannis; Limonard, Charles; O'Morain, Colm; Monteiro, Estela; Fornaciari, Giovanni; Vatn, Morten; Stockbrugger, Reinhold

    2007-12-01

    Crohn's disease (CD) is a chronic inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract associated with life-long high health care costs. We aimed to determine the effect of disease phenotype on cost. Clinical and economic data of a community-based CD cohort with 10-year follow-up were analyzed retrospectively in relation to Montreal classification phenotypes. In 418 patients, mean total costs of health care for the behavior phenotypes were: nonstricturing-nonpenetrating 1690, stricturing 2081, penetrating 3133 and penetrating-with-perianal-fistula 3356 €/patient-phenotype-year (P<0.001), and mean costs of surgical hospitalization 215, 751, 1293 and 1275 €/patient-phenotype-year respectively (P<0.001). Penetrating-with-perianal-fistula patients incurred significantly greater expenses than penetrating patients for total care, diagnosis and drugs, but not surgical hospitalization. Total costs were similar in the location phenotypes: ileum 1893, colon 1748, ileo-colonic 2010 and upper gastrointestinal tract 1758 €/patient-phenotype-year, but surgical hospitalization costs differed significantly, 558, 209, 492 and 542 €/patient-phenotype-year respectively (P<0.001). By multivariate analysis, the behavior phenotype significantly impacted total, medical and surgical hospitalization costs, whereas the location phenotype affected only surgical costs. Younger age at diagnosis predicted greater surgical expenses. Behavior is the dominant phenotype driving health care cost. Use of the Montreal classification permits detection of cost differences caused by perianal fistula.

  8. 10 CFR 436.18 - Measuring cost-effectiveness.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 10 Energy 3 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Measuring cost-effectiveness. 436.18 Section 436.18 Energy... Procedures for Life Cycle Cost Analyses § 436.18 Measuring cost-effectiveness. (a) In accordance with this section, each Federal agency shall measure cost-effectiveness by combining cost data established under...

  9. The clinician's guide to diagnostic imaging: Cost-effective pathways. Second edition

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Grossman, Z.D.; Chew, F.S.; Ellis, D.A.; Brigham, S.C.

    1987-01-01

    The authors developed a cost-effective approach to imaging studies, based on initial selection of an exam that best addresses the specific clinical problem and obviates the need for additional diagnostic tests. Tightly reasoned arguments compare available imaging options with respect to diagnostic yield, feasibility, risk, and cost. To aid the clinician in making cost comparisons, each paper of the Second Edition lists the dollar cost of relevant imaging studies. The Second Edition has been thoroughly revised to reflect the important advances in diagnostic imaging of the past three years, highlighting CT's expanding role in thoracic and abdominal problems, magnetic resonance imaging as a spectacular diagnostic tool for the central nervous system, and the clinical application of many newly-developed radiopharmaceuticals. New chapters cover breast cancer screening, acute spinal trauma, search for primary cancer of unknown origin, acute anuria, blunt chest trauma, new onset seizures, and spinal cord compression from metastases. Other papers have been rewritten for greater clarity and to incorporate new techniques, like dipyridamole stress testing. A glossary and an introduction define and explain the capabilities and limitations of current techniques

  10. Cost-Effectiveness Analysis of Pharmacotherapy for Hematemesis-Melena Treatment in Hospitalized Patients with Hepatic Cirrhosis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Doddy de Queljoe

    2013-04-01

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Acute variceal haemorrhage is a complication of cirrhosis that can be life threatening. It is a pharmacist’s duty to ensure therapeutic and pharmaceutical care which is not only safe and effective for the patient but also is cost-effective in order to attain improvement of the patient’s quality of life. Therefore, pharmacoeconomic evaluation especially cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA, which compares costs and consequences of drug therapy, is needed. This study was aimed to evaluate the therapeutic cost-effectiveness of hematemesis-melena treatment in hepatic cirrhotic patients. METHODS: A total of 42 patients receiving vitamin K and vitamin K-transamin were studied retrospectively from patients’ medical records in 2 years and analyzed with cost-effectiveness grid and average cost-effectiveness ratio (ACER based on Child-Turcotte-Pugh (CTP Score. RESULTS: Cost-effectiveness grid was dominant for vitamin K in patients with CTP Score A. ACER analysis showed a lower score for vitamin K in all patients included CTP Score classification. There was no significant difference in duration of cessation of bleeding treatment in patients with vitamin K compared with vitamin K-transamin in patients with CTP Score A and B, while significant difference was found in patients with CTP Score C. CONCLUSIONS: Vitamin K appeared to be more cost effective as compared with vitamin K-transamin in all patients. The use of vitamin K had greater benefit than the combination with transamin in all patients and CTP Score classification, and thus should be considered as a primary therapy. Therefore, transamin addition as an alternative therapy for hepatic cirrhosis patients with hematemesis-melena should be considered. KEYWORDS: CEA, cost-effectiveness analysis, child-turcotte-pugh score, hepatic cirrhosis, hematemesismelena, vitamin K, transamin.

  11. Cost-Effective Fuel Treatment Planning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kreitler, J.; Thompson, M.; Vaillant, N.

    2014-12-01

    The cost of fighting large wildland fires in the western United States has grown dramatically over the past decade. This trend will likely continue with growth of the WUI into fire prone ecosystems, dangerous fuel conditions from decades of fire suppression, and a potentially increasing effect from prolonged drought and climate change. Fuel treatments are often considered the primary pre-fire mechanism to reduce the exposure of values at risk to wildland fire, and a growing suite of fire models and tools are employed to prioritize where treatments could mitigate wildland fire damages. Assessments using the likelihood and consequence of fire are critical because funds are insufficient to reduce risk on all lands needing treatment, therefore prioritization is required to maximize the effectiveness of fuel treatment budgets. Cost-effectiveness, doing the most good per dollar, would seem to be an important fuel treatment metric, yet studies or plans that prioritize fuel treatments using costs or cost-effectiveness measures are absent from the literature. Therefore, to explore the effect of using costs in fuel treatment planning we test four prioritization algorithms designed to reduce risk in a case study examining fuel treatments on the Sisters Ranger District of central Oregon. For benefits we model sediment retention and standing biomass, and measure the effectiveness of each algorithm by comparing the differences among treatment and no treat alternative scenarios. Our objective is to maximize the averted loss of net benefits subject to a representative fuel treatment budget. We model costs across the study landscape using the My Fuel Treatment Planner software, tree list data, local mill prices, and GIS-measured site characteristics. We use fire simulations to generate burn probabilities, and estimate fire intensity as conditional flame length at each pixel. Two prioritization algorithms target treatments based on cost-effectiveness and show improvements over those

  12. Costs and cost-effectiveness of delivering intermittent preventive treatment through schools in western Kenya

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jukes Matthew CH

    2008-09-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Awareness of the potential impact of malaria among school-age children has stimulated investigation into malaria interventions that can be delivered through schools. However, little evidence is available on the costs and cost-effectiveness of intervention options. This paper evaluates the costs and cost-effectiveness of intermittent preventive treatment (IPT as delivered by teachers in schools in western Kenya. Methods Information on actual drug and non-drug associated costs were collected from expenditure and salary records, government budgets and interviews with key district and national officials. Effectiveness data were derived from a cluster-randomised-controlled trial of IPT where a single dose of sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine and three daily doses of amodiaquine were provided three times in year (once termly. Both financial and economic costs were estimated from a provider perspective, and effectiveness was estimated in terms of anaemia cases averted. A sensitivity analysis was conducted to assess the impact of key assumptions on estimated cost-effectiveness. Results The delivery of IPT by teachers was estimated to cost US$ 1.88 per child treated per year, with drug and teacher training costs constituting the largest cost components. Set-up costs accounted for 13.2% of overall costs (equivalent to US$ 0.25 per child whilst recurrent costs accounted for 86.8% (US$ 1.63 per child per year. The estimated cost per anaemia case averted was US$ 29.84 and the cost per case of Plasmodium falciparum parasitaemia averted was US$ 5.36, respectively. The cost per case of anaemia averted ranged between US$ 24.60 and 40.32 when the prices of antimalarial drugs and delivery costs were varied. Cost-effectiveness was most influenced by effectiveness of IPT and the background prevalence of anaemia. In settings where 30% and 50% of schoolchildren were anaemic, cost-effectiveness ratios were US$ 12.53 and 7.52, respectively. Conclusion This

  13. Cost-effectiveness modeling for neuropathic pain treatments: investigating the relative importance of parameters using an open-source model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hirst, Matthew; Bending, Matthew W; Baio, Gianluca; Yesufu-Udechuku, Amina; Dunlop, William C N

    2018-06-08

    The study objective was to develop an open-source replicate of a cost-effectiveness model developed by National Institute for Health and Care (NICE) in order to explore uncertainties in health economic modeling of novel pharmacological neuropathic pain treatments. The NICE model, consisting of a decision tree with branches for discrete levels of pain relief and adverse event (AE) severities, was replicated using R and used to compare a hypothetical neuropathic pain drug to pregabalin. Model parameters were sourced from NICE's clinical guidelines and associated with probability distributions to account for underlying uncertainty. A simulation-based scenario analysis was conducted to assess how uncertainty in efficacy and AEs affected the net monetary benefit (NMB) for the hypothetical treatment at a cost-effectiveness threshold of £20,000 per QALY. Relative to pregabalin, an increase in efficacy was associated with greater NMB than an improvement in tolerability. A greater NMB was observed when efficacy was marginally higher than that of pregabalin while maintaining the same level of AEs than when efficacy was equivalent to pregabalin but with a more substantial reduction in AEs. In the latter scenario, the NMB was only positive at a low cost-effectiveness threshold. The replicate model shares the limitations described in the NICE guidelines. There is a lack of support in scientific literature for the assumption that increased efficacy is associated with a greater reduction in tolerability. The replicate model also included a single comparator, unlike the NICE model. Pain relief is a stronger driver of NMB than tolerability at a cost-effectiveness threshold of £20,000 per QALY. Health technology assessment decisions which are influenced by NICE's model may reward efficacy gains even if they are associated with more severe AEs. This contrasts with recommendations from clinical guidelines for neuropathic pain which place more equal weighting on improvements in

  14. Sunk cost and work ethic effects reflect suboptimal choice between different work requirements.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Magalhães, Paula; White, K Geoffrey

    2013-03-01

    We investigated suboptimal choice between different work requirements in pigeons (Columba livia), namely the sunk cost effect, an irrational tendency to persist with an initial investment, despite the availability of a better option. Pigeons chose between two keys, one with a fixed work requirement to food of 20 pecks (left key), and the other with a work requirement to food which varied across conditions (center key). On some trials within each session, such choices were preceded by an investment of 35 pecks on the center key, whereas on others they were not. On choice trials preceded by the investment, the pigeons tended to stay and complete the schedule associated with the center key, even when the number of pecks to obtain reward was greater than for the concurrently available left key. This result indicates that pigeons, like humans, commit the sunk cost effect. With higher work requirements, this preference was extended to trials where there was no initial investment, so an overall preference for the key associated with more work was evident, consistent with the work ethic effect. We conclude that a more general work ethic effect is amplified by the effect of the prior investment, that is, the sunk cost effect. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  15. Cost-effectiveness Analysis for Technology Acquisition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chakravarty, A; Naware, S S

    2008-01-01

    In a developing country with limited resources, it is important to utilize the total cost visibility approach over the entire life-cycle of the technology and then analyse alternative options for acquiring technology. The present study analysed cost-effectiveness of an "In-house" magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan facility of a large service hospital against outsourcing possibilities. Cost per unit scan was calculated by operating costing method and break-even volume was calculated. Then life-cycle cost analysis was performed to enable total cost visibility of the MRI scan in both "In-house" and "outsourcing of facility" configuration. Finally, cost-effectiveness analysis was performed to identify the more acceptable decision option. Total cost for performing unit MRI scan was found to be Rs 3,875 for scans without contrast and Rs 4,129 with contrast. On life-cycle cost analysis, net present value (NPV) of the "In-house" configuration was found to be Rs-(4,09,06,265) while that of "outsourcing of facility" configuration was Rs-(5,70,23,315). Subsequently, cost-effectiveness analysis across eight Figures of Merit showed the "In-house" facility to be the more acceptable option for the system. Every decision for acquiring high-end technology must be subjected to life-cycle cost analysis.

  16. Hypertension education and adherence in South Africa: a cost-effectiveness analysis of community health workers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gaziano, Thomas A; Bertram, Melanie; Tollman, Stephen M; Hofman, Karen J

    2014-03-10

    To determine whether training community health workers (CHWs) about hypertension in order to improve adherence to medications is a cost-effective intervention among community members in South Africa. We used an established Markov model with age-varying probabilities of cardiovascular disease (CVD) events to assess the benefits and costs of using CHW home visits to increase hypertension adherence for individuals with hypertension and aged 25-74 in South Africa. Subjects considered for CHW intervention were those with a previous diagnosis of hypertension and on medications but who had not achieved control of their blood pressure. We report our results in incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs) in US dollars per disability-adjusted life-year (DALY) averted. The annual cost of the CHW intervention is about $8 per patient. This would lead to over a 2% reduction in CVD events over a life-time and decrease DALY burden. Due to reductions in non-fatal CVD events, lifetime costs are only $6.56 per patient. The CHW intervention leads to an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of $320/DALY averted. At an annual cost of $6.50 or if the blood pressure reduction is 5 mmHg or greater per patient the intervention is cost-saving. Additional training for CHWs on hypertension management could be a cost-effective strategy for CVD in South Africa and a very good purchase according to World Health Organization (WHO) standards. The intervention could also lead to reduced visits at the health centres freeing up more time for new patients or reducing the burden of an overworked staff at many facilities.

  17. The Effectiveness, Costs and Coastal Protection Benefits of Natural and Nature-Based Defences.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Narayan, Siddharth; Beck, Michael W; Reguero, Borja G; Losada, Iñigo J; van Wesenbeeck, Bregje; Pontee, Nigel; Sanchirico, James N; Ingram, Jane Carter; Lange, Glenn-Marie; Burks-Copes, Kelly A

    2016-01-01

    effective at greater depths. Nature-based defence projects also report benefits ranging from reductions in storm damage to reductions in coastal structure costs.

  18. The Effectiveness, Costs and Coastal Protection Benefits of Natural and Nature-Based Defences.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Siddharth Narayan

    more cost effective at greater depths. Nature-based defence projects also report benefits ranging from reductions in storm damage to reductions in coastal structure costs.

  19. Cost analysis and cost justification of automated data processing in the clinical laboratory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Westlake, G E

    1983-03-01

    Prospective cost analysis of alternative data processing systems can be facilitated by proper selection of the costs to be analyzed and realistic appraisal of the effect on staffing. When comparing projects with dissimilar cash flows, techniques such as analysis of net present value can be helpful in identifying financial benefits. Confidence and accuracy in prospective analyses will increase as more retrospective studies are published. Several accounts now in the literature describe long-term experience with turnkey laboratory information systems. Acknowledging the difficulty in longitudinal studies, they all report favorable effects on labor costs and recovery of lost charges. Enthusiasm is also expressed for the many intangible benefits of the systems. Several trends suggest that cost justification and cost effectiveness will be more easily demonstrated in the future. These are the rapidly decreasing cost of hardware (with corresponding reduction in service costs) and the entry into the market of additional systems designed for medium to small hospitals. The effect of broadening the sales base may be lower software prices. Finally, operational and executive data management and reporting are destined to become the premier extensions of the LIS for cost justification. Aptly applied, these facilities can promote understanding of costs, control of costs, and greater efficiency in providing laboratory services.

  20. Cost-Effectiveness Data Regarding Spinal Cord Stimulation for Low Back Pain.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hoelscher, Christian; Riley, Jonathan; Wu, Chengyuan; Sharan, Ashwini

    2017-07-15

    Review of published literature pertaining to spinal cord stimulation (SCS) cost data analysis. To acquire, organize, and succinctly summarize the available literature regarding the costs associated with, and the cost-effectiveness of, SCS. Chronic back and limb pain is a pervasive complaint in modern society, with estimated annual costs of medical care greater than $100 billion. The traditional standard medical management with or without intermittent surgical decompression/fusion has been plagued by high costs and inconsistent results, leading to poor patient satisfaction and functional outcome, and questions from policy makers regarding use of limited healthcare resources. Neuromodulation techniques, including SCS have recently become more common in the treatment of chronic back/leg pain, with clinical studies showing a high degree of efficacy in alleviating otherwise intractable pain. Given the relatively high upfront costs associated with the hardware and implantation, policy makers have, however, questioned their use in the framework of cost-containment and resource utilization. We reviewed the available literature summarizing cost data of SCS in chronic back and limb pain, as an understanding of these data will be vital to justify continued payment for this expensive, but often very effective, treatment modality. We performed a PubMed literature search utilizing the following terms: "spinal cord stimulation," "SCS," "financial," "cost," "cost-effectiveness," and "cost-utility." All studies published in English and containing complete or partial cost evaluations of SCS for chronic back and limb pain were included. The search revealed 21 studies that evaluated cost data, with or without outcomes analysis and cost-utility analysis, for patients with chronic back and limb pain. The overwhelming majority of data presented shows that SCS is not only an effective treatment option for these patients, but also represents cost savings and efficient use of healthcare

  1. The effect of alcohol treatment on social costs of alcohol dependence: results from the COMBINE study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zarkin, Gary A; Bray, Jeremy W; Aldridge, Arnie; Mills, Michael; Cisler, Ron A; Couper, David; McKay, James R; O'Malley, Stephanie

    2010-05-01

    The COMBINE (combined pharmacotherapies and behavioral intervention) clinical trial recently evaluated the efficacy of pharmacotherapies, behavioral therapies, and their combinations for the treatment of alcohol dependence. Previously, the cost and cost-effectiveness of COMBINE have been studied. Policy makers, patients, and nonalcohol-dependent individuals may be concerned not only with alcohol treatment costs but also with the effect of alcohol interventions on broader social costs and outcomes. To estimate the sum of treatment costs plus the costs of health care utilization, arrests, and motor vehicle accidents for the 9 treatments in COMBINE 3 years postrandomization. A cost study based on a randomized controlled clinical trial. : The study involved 786 participants 3 years postrandomization. Multivariate results show no significant differences in mean costs between any of the treatment arms as compared with medical management (MM) + placebo for the 3-year postrandomization sample. The median costs of MM + acamprosate, MM + naltrexone, MM + acamprosate + naltrexone, and MM + acamprosate + combined behavioral intervention were significantly lower than the median cost for MM + placebo. The results show that social cost savings are generated relative to MM + placebo by 3 years postrandomization, and the magnitude of these cost savings is greater than the costs of the COMBINE treatment received 3 years prior. Our study suggests that several alcohol treatments may indeed lead to reduced median social costs associated with health care, arrests, and motor vehicle accidents.

  2. Bayesian models for cost-effectiveness analysis in the presence of structural zero costs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baio, Gianluca

    2014-05-20

    Bayesian modelling for cost-effectiveness data has received much attention in both the health economics and the statistical literature, in recent years. Cost-effectiveness data are characterised by a relatively complex structure of relationships linking a suitable measure of clinical benefit (e.g. quality-adjusted life years) and the associated costs. Simplifying assumptions, such as (bivariate) normality of the underlying distributions, are usually not granted, particularly for the cost variable, which is characterised by markedly skewed distributions. In addition, individual-level data sets are often characterised by the presence of structural zeros in the cost variable. Hurdle models can be used to account for the presence of excess zeros in a distribution and have been applied in the context of cost data. We extend their application to cost-effectiveness data, defining a full Bayesian specification, which consists of a model for the individual probability of null costs, a marginal model for the costs and a conditional model for the measure of effectiveness (given the observed costs). We presented the model using a working example to describe its main features. © 2013 The Authors. Statistics in Medicine published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  3. Cost-effectiveness Analysis with Influence Diagrams.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arias, M; Díez, F J

    2015-01-01

    Cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA) is used increasingly in medicine to determine whether the health benefit of an intervention is worth the economic cost. Decision trees, the standard decision modeling technique for non-temporal domains, can only perform CEA for very small problems. To develop a method for CEA in problems involving several dozen variables. We explain how to build influence diagrams (IDs) that explicitly represent cost and effectiveness. We propose an algorithm for evaluating cost-effectiveness IDs directly, i.e., without expanding an equivalent decision tree. The evaluation of an ID returns a set of intervals for the willingness to pay - separated by cost-effectiveness thresholds - and, for each interval, the cost, the effectiveness, and the optimal intervention. The algorithm that evaluates the ID directly is in general much more efficient than the brute-force method, which is in turn more efficient than the expansion of an equivalent decision tree. Using OpenMarkov, an open-source software tool that implements this algorithm, we have been able to perform CEAs on several IDs whose equivalent decision trees contain millions of branches. IDs can perform CEA on large problems that cannot be analyzed with decision trees.

  4. The Effect of Severity of Illness on Spine Surgery Costs Across New York State Hospitals: An Analysis of 69,831 Cases.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kaye, I David; Adrados, Murillo; Karia, Raj J; Protopsaltis, Themistocles S; Bosco, Joseph A

    2017-11-01

    Observational database review. To determine the effect of patient severity of illness (SOI) on the cost of spine surgery among New York state hospitals. National health care spending has risen at an unsustainable rate with musculoskeletal care, and spine surgery in particular, accounting for a significant portion of this expenditure. In an effort towards cost-containment, health care payers are exploring novel payment models some of which reward cost savings but penalize excessive spending. To mitigate risk to health care institutions, accurate cost forecasting is essential. No studies have evaluated the effect of SOI on costs within spine surgery. The New York State Hospital Inpatient Cost Transparency Database was reviewed to determine the costs of 69,831 hospital discharges between 2009 and 2011 comprising the 3 most commonly performed spine surgeries in the state. These costs were then analyzed in the context of the specific all patient refined diagnosis-related group (DRG) SOI modifier to determine this index's effect on overall costs. Overall, hospital-reported cost increases with the patient's SOI class and patients with worse baseline health incur greater hospital costs (Pcosts are increasingly variable for each worsening SOI class (Pcosts is persistent for all 3 DRGs across all 3 years studied (2009-2011), within each of the 7 New York state regions, and occurs irrespective of the hospital's teaching status or size. Using the 3M all patient refined-DRG SOI index as a measure of patient's health status, a significant increase in cost for spine surgery for patients with higher SOI index was found. This study confirms the greater cost and variability of spine surgery for sicker patients and illustrates the inherent unpredictability in cost forecasting and budgeting for these same patients.

  5. Cost-effectiveness analysis of tenofovir disoproxil fumarate for treatment of chronic hepatitis B in China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ke, Weixia; Zhang, Chi; Liu, Li; Gao, Yanhui; Yao, Zhenjiang; Ye, Xiaohua; Zhou, Shudong; Yang, Yi

    2016-11-01

    Tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF) is newly available for treatment of chronic hepatitis B patients in China. To date, no study has been conducted to examine the cost-effectiveness of this treatment. The aim of this study was to estimate the cost-effectiveness of TDF versus four oral nucleos(t)ide analogs [lamivudine (LAM), adefovir (ADV), telbivudine (LdT), and entecavir (ETV)] and from a pharmacoeconomic perspective to assess current drug pricing for TDF. Based on Chinese healthcare perspectives, a Markov model was applied to simulate the lifetime (40-year time span) costs and quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) for five different monotherapy strategies. Two kinds of rescue combination strategies (base-case: LAM + ADV then ETV + ADV; alternative: directly using ETV + ADV) were separately considered for treatment of patients refractory to monotherapy. Model parameters (including disease transition, cost, and utility) were obtained from previous Chinese population studies. Both branded and generic drugs were separately analyzed. Study model uncertainties were assessed by one-way and probabilistic sensitivity analyses. Two-way sensitivity analysis was used to explore uncertainties between efficacy and price of TDF. In the base-case analysis, the lowest lifetime cost and the best cost-effectiveness ratio were obtained by ETV, which was considered the reference treatment. LAM, ADV, and LdT treatments had significantly greater costs and lower efficacies. Compared to ETV, TDF was more effective but also more expensive. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratios of TDF versus ETV were much higher than the willing-to-pay threshold of $20,466 US dollars (USD) per QALY gained (3 × gross domestic product per capita of China, 2014). TDF would be the most cost-effective strategy if the annual cost did not exceed $2260 USD and $1600 USD for branded and generic drugs, respectively. For Chinese chronic hepatitis B patients, ETV is still the most cost-effective

  6. Partial-Breast Irradiation Versus Whole-Breast Irradiation for Early-Stage Breast Cancer: A Cost-Effectiveness Analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sher, David J.; Wittenberg, Eve; Suh, W. Warren; Taghian, Alphonse G.; Punglia, Rinaa S.

    2009-01-01

    Purpose: Accelerated partial-breast irradiation (PBI) is a new treatment paradigm for patients with early-stage breast cancer. Although PBI may lead to greater local recurrence rates, it may be cost-effective because of better tolerability and lower cost. We aim to determine the incremental cost-effectiveness of PBI compared with whole-breast radiation therapy (WBRT) for estrogen receptor-positive postmenopausal women treated for early-stage breast cancer. Methods and Materials: We developed a Markov model to describe health states in the 15 years after radiotherapy for early-stage breast cancer. External beam (EB) and MammoSite (MS) PBI were considered and assumed to be equally effective, but carried different costs. Patients received tamoxifen, but not chemotherapy. Utilities, recurrence risks, and costs were adapted from the literature; the baseline utility for no disease after radiotherapy was set at 0.92. Probabilistic sensitivity analyses were performed to model uncertainty in the PBI hazard ratio, recurrence pattern, and patient utilities. Costs (in 2004 US dollars) and quality-adjusted life-years were discounted at 3%/y. Results: The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio for WBRT compared with EB-PBI was $630,000/quality-adjusted life-year; WBRT strongly dominated MS-PBI. One-way sensitivity analysis found that results were sensitive to PBI hazard ratio, recurrence pattern, baseline recurrence risk, and no evidence of disease PBI utility values. Probabilistic sensitivity showed that EB-PBI was the most cost-effective technique over a wide range of assumptions and societal willingness-to-pay values. Conclusions: EB-PBI was the most cost-effective strategy for postmenopausal women with early-stage breast cancer. Unless the quality of life after MS-PBI proves to be superior, it is unlikely to be cost-effective.

  7. Cost-effective analysis of PET application in NSCLC

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gu Aichun; Liu Jianjun; Sun Xiaoguang; Shi Yiping; Huang Gang

    2006-01-01

    Objective: To evaluate the cost-effectiveness of PET and CT application for diagnosis of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in China. Methods: Using decision analysis method the diagnostic efficiency of PET and CT for diagnosis of NSCLC in china was analysed. And also the value of cost for accurate diagnosis (CAD), cost for accurate staging (CAS) and cost for effective therapy (CAT) was calculated. Results: (1) For the accurate diagnosis, CT was much more cost-effective than PET. (2) For the accurate staging, CT was still more cost-effective than PET. (3) For the all over diagnostic and therapeutic cost, PET was more cost-effective than CT. (4) The priority of PET to CT was for the diagnosis of stage I NSCLC. Conclusion: For the management of NSCLC patient in China, CT is more cost-effective for screening, whereas PET for clinical staging and monitoring therapeutic effect. (authors)

  8. Adaptive pacing, cognitive behaviour therapy, graded exercise, and specialist medical care for chronic fatigue syndrome: a cost-effectiveness analysis.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Paul McCrone

    Full Text Available The PACE trial compared the effectiveness of adding adaptive pacing therapy (APT, cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT, or graded exercise therapy (GET, to specialist medical care (SMC for patients with chronic fatigue syndrome. This paper reports the relative cost-effectiveness of these treatments in terms of quality adjusted life years (QALYs and improvements in fatigue and physical function.Resource use was measured and costs calculated. Healthcare and societal costs (healthcare plus lost production and unpaid informal care were combined with QALYs gained, and changes in fatigue and disability; incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs were computed.SMC patients had significantly lower healthcare costs than those receiving APT, CBT and GET. If society is willing to value a QALY at £30,000 there is a 62.7% likelihood that CBT is the most cost-effective therapy, a 26.8% likelihood that GET is most cost effective, 2.6% that APT is most cost-effective and 7.9% that SMC alone is most cost-effective. Compared to SMC alone, the incremental healthcare cost per QALY was £18,374 for CBT, £23,615 for GET and £55,235 for APT. From a societal perspective CBT has a 59.5% likelihood of being the most cost-effective, GET 34.8%, APT 0.2% and SMC alone 5.5%. CBT and GET dominated SMC, while APT had a cost per QALY of £127,047. ICERs using reductions in fatigue and disability as outcomes largely mirrored these findings.Comparing the four treatments using a health care perspective, CBT had the greatest probability of being the most cost-effective followed by GET. APT had a lower probability of being the most cost-effective option than SMC alone. The relative cost-effectiveness was even greater from a societal perspective as additional cost savings due to reduced need for informal care were likely.

  9. Cost-Effectiveness Analysis of Fondaparinux vs Enoxaparin in Non-ST Elevation Acute Coronary Syndrome in Thailand.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Permsuwan, Unchalee; Chaiyakunapruk, Nathorn; Nathisuwan, Surakit; Sukonthasarn, Apichard

    2015-09-01

    Non-ST elevation acute coronary syndrome (NSTE-ACS) imposes a significant health and economic burden on a society. Anticoagulants are recommended as standard therapy by various clinical practice guidelines. Fondaparinux was introduced and evaluated in a number of large randomised, controlled trials. This study therefore aimed to determine the cost-effectiveness of fondaparinux versus enoxaparin in the treatment of NSTE-ACS in Thailand. A two-part construct model comprising a one-year decision tree and a Markov model was developed to capture short and long-term costs and outcomes from the perspective of provider and society. Effectiveness data were derived from OASIS-5 trial while bleeding rates were derived from the Thai Acute Coronary Syndrome Registry (TACSR). Costs data were based on a Thai database and presented in the year of 2013. Both costs and outcomes were discounted by 3% annually. A series of sensitivity analyses were performed. The results showed that compared with enoxaparin, fondaparinux was a cost-saving strategy (lower cost with slightly higher effectiveness). Cost of revascularisation with major bleeding had a greater impact on the amount of cost saved both from societal and provider perspectives. With a threshold of 160,000 THB ((4,857.3 USD) per QALY in Thailand, fondaparinux was about 99% more cost-effective compared with enoxaparin. Fondaparinux should be considered as a cost-effective alternative when compared to enoxaparin for NSTE-ACS based on Thailand's context, especially in the era of limited healthcare resources. Copyright © 2015 Australian and New Zealand Society of Cardiac and Thoracic Surgeons (ANZSCTS) and the Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand (CSANZ). Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  10. The cost of preventing undernutrition: cost, cost-efficiency and cost-effectiveness of three cash-based interventions on nutrition outcomes in Dadu, Pakistan.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Trenouth, Lani; Colbourn, Timothy; Fenn, Bridget; Pietzsch, Silke; Myatt, Mark; Puett, Chloe

    2018-07-01

    Cash-based interventions (CBIs) increasingly are being used to deliver humanitarian assistance and there is growing interest in the cost-effectiveness of cash transfers for preventing undernutrition in emergency contexts. The objectives of this study were to assess the costs, cost-efficiency and cost-effectiveness in achieving nutrition outcomes of three CBIs in southern Pakistan: a 'double cash' (DC) transfer, a 'standard cash' (SC) transfer and a 'fresh food voucher' (FFV) transfer. Cash and FFVs were provided to poor households with children aged 6-48 months for 6 months in 2015. The SC and FFV interventions provided $14 monthly and the DC provided $28 monthly. Cost data were collected via institutional accounting records, interviews, programme observation, document review and household survey. Cost-effectiveness was assessed as cost per case of wasting, stunting and disability-adjusted life year (DALY) averted. Beneficiary costs were higher for the cash groups than the voucher group. Net total cost transfer ratios (TCTRs) were estimated as 1.82 for DC, 2.82 for SC and 2.73 for FFV. Yet, despite the higher operational costs, the FFV TCTR was lower than the SC TCTR when incorporating the participation cost to households, demonstrating the relevance of including beneficiary costs in cost-efficiency estimations. The DC intervention achieved a reduction in wasting, at $4865 per case averted; neither the SC nor the FFV interventions reduced wasting. The cost per case of stunting averted was $1290 for DC, $882 for SC and $883 for FFV. The cost per DALY averted was $641 for DC, $434 for SC and $563 for FFV without discounting or age weighting. These interventions are highly cost-effective by international thresholds. While it is debatable whether these resource requirements represent a feasible or sustainable investment given low health expenditures in Pakistan, these findings may provide justification for continuing Pakistan's investment in national social safety

  11. Accounting for the drug life cycle and future drug prices in cost-effectiveness analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hoyle, Martin

    2011-01-01

    Economic evaluations of health technologies typically assume constant real drug prices and model only the cohort of patients currently eligible for treatment. It has recently been suggested that, in the UK, we should assume that real drug prices decrease at 4% per annum and, in New Zealand, that real drug prices decrease at 2% per annum and at patent expiry the drug price falls. It has also recently been suggested that we should model multiple future incident cohorts. In this article, the cost effectiveness of drugs is modelled based on these ideas. Algebraic expressions are developed to capture all costs and benefits over the entire life cycle of a new drug. The lifetime of a new drug in the UK, a key model parameter, is estimated as 33 years, based on the historical lifetime of drugs in England over the last 27 years. Under the proposed methodology, cost effectiveness is calculated for seven new drugs recently appraised in the UK. Cost effectiveness as assessed in the future is also estimated. Whilst the article is framed in mathematics, the findings and recommendations are also explained in non-mathematical language. The 'life-cycle correction factor' is introduced, which is used to convert estimates of cost effectiveness as traditionally calculated into estimates under the proposed methodology. Under the proposed methodology, all seven drugs appear far more cost effective in the UK than published. For example, the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio decreases by 46%, from £61, 900 to £33, 500 per QALY, for cinacalcet versus best supportive care for end-stage renal disease, and by 45%, from £31,100 to £17,000 per QALY, for imatinib versus interferon-α for chronic myeloid leukaemia. Assuming real drug prices decrease over time, the chance that a drug is publicly funded increases over time, and is greater when modelling multiple cohorts than with a single cohort. Using the methodology (compared with traditional methodology) all drugs in the UK and New

  12. The Cost Effectiveness of Psychological and Pharmacological Interventions for Social Anxiety Disorder: A Model-Based Economic Analysis.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ifigeneia Mavranezouli

    -term comparative benefits and harms of psychological and pharmacological interventions for social anxiety disorder and establish their relative cost effectiveness with greater certainty.

  13. Cost-effectiveness of sibutramine in the LOSE Weight Study: evaluating the role of pharmacologic weight-loss therapy within a weight management program.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Malone, Daniel C; Raebel, Marsha A; Porter, Julie A; Lanty, Frances A; Conner, Douglas A; Gay, Elizabeth C; Merenich, John A; Vogel, Erin A

    2005-01-01

    the cost-effectiveness of drug therapy when used in conjunction with a weight management program (WMP) for treatment of obesity. The objective was to compare the cost-effectiveness of sibutramine (Meridia) plus a structured WMP versus only a structured WMP in both overweight and obese individuals. The core WMP was a physician-supervised, multidisciplinary program for which each enrollee paid $100 out of pocket. A cost-effectiveness analysis was performed based upon the results of a previously published randomized controlled trial conducted within a managed care organization. The target population for this study was obese or overweight persons. The perspective of the study was that of a managed care organization. The intervention consisted of subjects receiving a WMP with or without sibutramine. The primary outcomes of this study were (a) absolute change in body weight and percentage change in body weight over 12 months, (b) change in obesity-related and total medical costs from 12 months prior to enrollment through 12 months after enrollment, and (c) cost-effectiveness in terms of cost per pound of weight loss. All costs were adjusted to 2004 dollars using the respective components of the consumer price index for each medical service or medication. A total of 501 evaluable subjects were enrolled in the study, with 281 receiving sibutramine plus a structured WMP and 220 receiving only the structured WMP. The meanSD weight loss was significantly greater in the sibutramine (13.715.5 pounds, 4.8%) group than in the nondrug group (513.2 pounds, 2.2%) (P cost was a median increase of $408 for the sibutramine group compared with $31 for the nondrug group (P cost was a median $1,279 increase in the sibutramine group compared with $271 for the nondrug group (P cost by $44 per additional pound of weight loss (95% confidence interval, 42-46). Sensitivity analyses found that the results were sensitive to the price of sibutramine, whereas varying the cost of clinic visits did

  14. Cost-effectiveness evaluation of an RCT in rehabilitation after lumbar spinal fusion: a low-cost, behavioural approach is cost-effective over individual exercise therapy

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Søgaard, Rikke; Laurberg, Ida; Christensen, Finn B

    2008-01-01

    Recently, Christensen et al. reported the clinical effects of a low-cost rehabilitation program equally efficient to a relatively intensive program of individual, physiotherapist-guided exercise therapy. Yet, the low-cost approach is not fully supported as an optimal strategy until a full......-scale economic evaluation, including extra-hospital effects such as service utilization in the primary health care sector and return-to-work, is conducted. The objective of this study was to conduct such evaluation i.e. investigate the cost-effectiveness of (1) a low-cost rehabilitation regimen...... with a behavioural element and (2) a regimen of individual exercise therapy, both in comparison with usual practice, from a health economic, societal perspective. Study design was a cost-effectiveness evaluation of an RCT with a 2-year follow-up. Ninety patients having had posterolateral or circumferential fusion...

  15. FIRM SIZE EFFECTS ON TRANSACTION COSTS

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    NOOTEBOOM, B

    1993-01-01

    Associated with effects of scale, scope, experience and learning there are effects of firm size on transaction costs; in the stages of contact, contract and control. These effects are due to ''threshold costs'' in setting up contacts, contracts and governance schemes, and to differences with respect

  16. Cost-effectiveness of rotavirus vaccination in Albania.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ahmeti, Albana; Preza, Iria; Simaku, Artan; Nelaj, Erida; Clark, Andrew David; Felix Garcia, Ana Gabriela; Lara, Carlos; Hoestlandt, Céline; Blau, Julia; Bino, Silvia

    2015-05-07

    Rotavirus vaccines have been introduced in several European countries but can represent a considerable cost, particularly for countries that do not qualify for any external financial support. This study aimed to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of introducing rotavirus vaccination into Albania's national immunization program and to inform national decision-making by improving national capacity to conduct economic evaluations of new vaccines. The TRIVAC model was used to assess vaccine impact and cost-effectiveness. The model estimated health and economic outcomes attributed to 10 successive vaccinated birth cohorts (2013-2022) from a government and societal perspective. Epidemiological and economic data used in the model were based on national cost studies, and surveillance data, as well as estimates from the scientific literature. Cost-effectiveness was estimated for both the monovalent (RV1) and pentavalent vaccines (RV5). A multivariate scenario analysis (SA) was performed to evaluate the uncertainty around the incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs). With 3% discounting of costs and health benefits over the period 2013-2022, rotavirus vaccination in Albania could avert 51,172 outpatient visits, 14,200 hospitalizations, 27 deaths, 950 disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs), and gain 801 life-years. When both vaccines were compared to no vaccination, the discounted cost per DALY averted was US$ 2008 for RV1 and US$ 5047 for RV5 from a government perspective. From the societal perspective the values were US$ 517 and US$ 3556, respectively. From both the perspectives, the introduction of rotavirus vaccine to the Albanian immunization schedule is either cost-effective or highly cost-effective for a range of plausible scenarios. In most scenarios, including the base-case scenario, the discounted cost per DALY averted was less than three times the gross domestic product (GDP) per capita. However, rotavirus vaccination was not cost-effective when rotavirus cases

  17. Cost-of-illness studies and cost-effectiveness analyses in anxiety disorders: a systematic review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Konnopka, Alexander; Leichsenring, Falk; Leibing, Eric; König, Hans-Helmut

    2009-04-01

    To review cost-of-illness studies (COI) and cost-effectiveness analyses (CEA) conducted for anxiety disorders. Based on a database search in Pubmed, PsychINFO and NHS EED, studies were classified according to various criteria. Cost data were inflated and converted to 2005 US-$ purchasing power parities (PPP). We finally identified 20 COI and 11 CEA of which most concentrated on panic disorder (PD) and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). Differing inclusion of cost categories limited comparability of COI. PD and GAD tended to show higher direct costs per case, but lower direct cost per inhabitant than social and specific phobias. Different measures of effectiveness severely limited comparability of CEA. Overall CEA analysed 26 therapeutic or interventional strategies mostly compared to standard treatment, 8 of them resulting in lower better effectiveness and costs than the comparator. Anxiety disorders cause considerable costs. More research on phobias, more standardised inclusion of cost categories in COI and a wider use of comparable effectiveness measures (like QALYs) in CEA is needed.

  18. Cost-effectiveness of monitoring free flaps.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Subramaniam, Shiva; Sharp, David; Jardim, Christopher; Batstone, Martin D

    2016-06-01

    Methods of free flap monitoring have become more sophisticated and expensive. This study aims to determine the cost of free flap monitoring and examine its cost effectiveness. We examined a group of patients who had had free flaps to the head and neck over a two-year period, and combined these results with costs obtained from business managers and staff. There were 132 free flaps with a success rate of 99%. The cost of monitoring was Aus $193/flap. Clinical monitoring during this time period cost Aus$25 476 and did not lead to the salvage of any free flaps. Cost equivalence is reached between monitoring and not monitoring only at a failure rate of 15.8%. This is to our knowledge the first study to calculate the cost of clinical monitoring of free flaps, and to examine its cost-effectiveness. Copyright © 2016 The British Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons. All rights reserved.

  19. A cost-effectiveness analysis of in-vitro fertilization by maternal age and number of treatment attempts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Griffiths, Alison; Dyer, Suzanne M; Lord, Sarah J; Pardy, Chris; Fraser, Ian S; Eckermann, Simon

    2010-04-01

    The increase in use and costs of assisted reproductive therapies including in-vitro fertilization (IVF) has led to debate over public funding. A decision analytic model was designed to estimate the incremental cost-effectiveness of IVF by additional treatment programmes and maternal age. Data from the Australian and New Zealand Assisted Reproductive Database were used to estimate incremental effects (live birth and other pregnancy outcomes) and costs for cohorts of women attempting up to three treatment programmes. A treatment programme included one fresh cycle and a variable number of frozen cycles dependent on maternal age. The incremental cost per live birth ranged from AU dollars 27 373 and AU dollars 31 986 for women aged 30-33 on their first and third programmes to AU dollars 130 951 and AU dollars 187 515 for 42-45-year-old women on their first and second attempts. Overall, these trends were not affected by inclusions of costs associated with ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome or multiple births. This study suggests that cost per live birth from IVF increases with maternal age and treatment programme number and indicates that maternal age has the much greater effect. This evidence may help decisionmakers target the use of IVF services conditional on societal willingness to pay for live births and equity considerations.

  20. Cost-effectiveness of root caries preventive treatments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schwendicke, Falk; Göstemeyer, Gerd

    2017-01-01

    With a growing number of individuals retaining their teeth lifelong, often with periodontitis-induced root surface exposure, there is the need for cost-effective management strategies for root caries lesions. The present study aimed to assess the cost-effectiveness of root caries preventive treatments. Patients were simulated over 10 years using a Markov model. Four treatments were compared: No treatment, daily 225-800ppm fluoride rinses, chlorhexidine (CHX) varnish (2×/year), silver diamine fluoride (SDF) varnish (2×/year). Data from a systematic review were submitted to network meta-analysis for inferring relative efficacies of treatments. The health outcome was years of teeth being free of root caries. A mixed public-private payer perspective within 2016 German healthcare was taken, with costs being estimated from fee item catalogues or based on market prices. Populations with different numbers of teeth and tooth-level risks were modelled. Monte-Carlo microsimulations, univariate- and probabilistic sensitivity analyses were performed. In populations with 16 teeth at risk and low tooth-level risk for root caries, providing no preventive treatment was least costly, but also least effective (130 Euro, 144 years). SDF ranked next, being more costly (180 Euro), but also more effective (151 years). Payers willing to invest 8.30 Euro per root caries-free tooth-year found SDF most cost-effective. CHX varnish and fluoride rinse were not cost-effective. In populations with more teeth and high tooth-level risk, SDF was the most effective and least costly option. Root caries preventive treatments (like SDF) are effective and might even be cost-saving in high risk populations. Application of SDF can be recommended as a cost-saving treatment for prevention of root caries in patients with high risk of root caries. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  1. Cost-Effectiveness of a Collaborative Care Depression and Anxiety Treatment Program in Patients with Acute Cardiac Illness.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Celano, Christopher M; Healy, Brian; Suarez, Laura; Levy, Douglas E; Mastromauro, Carol; Januzzi, James L; Huffman, Jeff C

    2016-01-01

    To use data from a randomized trial to determine the cost-effectiveness of a collaborative care (CC) depression and anxiety treatment program and to assess effects of the CC program on health care utilization. The CC intervention's impact on health-related quality of life, depression-free days (DFDs), and anxiety-free days (AFDs) over the 24-week postdischarge period was calculated and compared with the enhanced usual care (EUC) condition using independent samples t tests and random-effects regression models. Costs for both the CC and EUC conditions were calculated on the basis of staff time, overhead expenses, and treatment materials. Using this information, incremental cost-effectiveness ratios were calculated. A cost-effectiveness acceptability plot was created using nonparametric bootstrapping with 10,000 replications, and the likelihood of the CC intervention's cost-effectiveness was assessed using standard cutoffs. As a secondary analysis, we determined whether the CC intervention led to reductions in postdischarge health care utilization and costs. The CC intervention was more costly than the EUC intervention ($209.86 vs. $34.59; z = -11.71; P < 0.001), but was associated with significantly greater increases in quality-adjusted life-years (t = -2.49; P = 0.01) and DFDs (t = -2.13; P = 0.03), but not AFDs (t = -1.92; P = 0.057). This translated into an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of $3337.06 per quality-adjusted life-year saved, $13.36 per DFD, and $13.74 per AFD. Compared with the EUC intervention, the CC intervention was also associated with fewer emergency department visits but no differences in overall costs. This CC intervention was associated with clinically relevant improvements, was cost-effective, and was associated with fewer emergency department visits in the 24 weeks after discharge. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  2. 10 CFR 455.63 - Cost-effectiveness testing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 10 Energy 3 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Cost-effectiveness testing. 455.63 Section 455.63 Energy..., Hospitals, Units of Local Government, and Public Care Institutions § 455.63 Cost-effectiveness testing. (a... paragraph (a) of this section, if the State plan requires the cost effectiveness of an energy conservation...

  3. Cost effectiveness of a protocol using palivizumab in preterm infants

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yolanda Hernández-Gago

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available Objective: The main objective was to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of protocol use of palivizumab in premature established by consensus in our Hospital comparing it based on the recommendations of various Scientific Societies. As a secondary objective risk factors and severity of hospitalized patients attending the established protocol in our Hospital were analyzed. Methods: The study period was 4 seasons with the expanded protocol (retrospective data versus 2 with restricted or agreed protocol (prospective data. The perspective of the study was the Health System, including the costs of hospitalization and palivizumab our center. The calculation of the effectiveness was determined with the admission rate of premature patients stratified by weeks of gestational age <29, <32; and <35. For the analysis of risk factors and severity in patients admitted seasons with the new protocol are collected prospectively clinical data and environmental and social factors. Results: In the range of gestational age <29 years old and <32 greater effectiveness of the extended protocol was not demonstrated against the consensus. Only more effective for EG <35 in the accumulated data and comparing seasons 12/13 and 08/09 to 13/14 for individual data was observed. This range has an associated incremental cost effectiveness ratio of € 53 250,07 (range: € 14 793,39 to € 90 446,47 for singles data and € 50 525,53 (€ 28 688.22 to € 211 575,65 for accumulated. The establishment of this protocol in our center meant an average saving per season € 169 911,51. A cost- effectiveness of the extended protocol appropriate relationship is found if the cost of palivizumab per patient was less than € 1 206,67 (calculated for maximum use of the vial and a higher rate of hospitalization of 9.21%. Children entering the season with the new protocol (season 12/13 and 13/14 are 63.4% in children under 3 months and 90% are term infants who do not belong to any population at

  4. Cost-effectiveness of tubal patency tests.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Verhoeve, H R; Moolenaar, L M; Hompes, P; van der Veen, F; Mol, B W J

    2013-04-01

    Guidelines are not in agreement on the most effective diagnostic scenario for tubal patency testing; therefore, we evaluated the cost-effectiveness of invasive tubal testing in subfertile couples compared with no testing and treatment. Cost-effectiveness analysis. Decision analytic framework. Computer-simulated cohort of subfertile women. We evaluated six scenarios: (1) no tests and no treatment; (2) immediate treatment without tubal testing; (3) delayed treatment without tubal testing; (4) hysterosalpingogram (HSG), followed by immediate or delayed treatment, according to diagnosis (tailored treatment); (5) HSG and a diagnostic laparoscopy (DL) in case HSG does not prove tubal patency, followed by tailored treatment; and (6) DL followed by tailored treatment. Expected cumulative live births after 3 years. Secondary outcomes were cost per couple and the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio. For a 30-year-old woman with otherwise unexplained subfertility for 12 months, 3-year cumulative live birth rates were 51.8, 78.1, 78.4, 78.4, 78.6 and 78.4%, and costs per couple were €0, €6968, €5063, €5410, €5405 and €6163 for scenarios 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6, respectively. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratios compared with scenario 1 (reference strategy), were €26,541, €19,046, €20,372, €20,150 and €23,184 for scenarios 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6, respectively. Sensitivity analysis showed the model to be robust over a wide range of values for the variables. The most cost-effective scenario is to perform no diagnostic tubal tests and to delay in vitro fertilisation (IVF) treatment for at least 12 months for women younger than 38 years old, and to perform no tubal tests and start immediate IVF treatment from the age of 39 years. If an invasive diagnostic test is planned, HSG followed by tailored treatment, or a DL if HSG shows no tubal patency, is more cost-effective than DL. © 2013 The Authors BJOG An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology © 2013

  5. Cost-effectiveness analysis of 5-fluorouracil 0.5%/salicylic acid 10% in the treatment of actinic keratosis in Spain.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nieves, Diana; Puig-Peiró, Ruth; Ferrándiz, Carlos; Plazas, Maria Josep; Brosa, Max

    2015-06-01

    The aim of this study is to conduct a cost-effectiveness analysis of 5-fluorouracil 0.5%/salicylic acid 10% (5-FU/SA) in the treatment of isolated hyperkeratotic actinic keratosis lesions in Spain. An analytical decision-making model was constructed to compare whether 5-FU/SA was a cost-effective option compared with cryotherapy from the perspective of the Spanish National Health System with a time horizon of 6 months. Costs were expressed in 2014 euros. The cost of patients with hyperkeratotic actinic keratosis treated with 5-FU/SA or cryotherapy was €266 and €285, respectively. 5-FU/SA was associated with higher rates of treatment success and, consequently, more quality-adjusted life years, than cryotherapy. Therefore, 5-FU/SA was the dominant treatment, as it was associated with a lower treatment cost and greater effectiveness than cryotherapy. Economically, 5-FU/SA was a dominant option compared with cryotherapy in the treatment of isolated hyperkeratotic actinic keratosis lesions in Spain.

  6. A Systematic Review of Cost-Effectiveness Studies Reporting Cost-per-DALY Averted.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Peter J Neumann

    Full Text Available Calculating the cost per disability-adjusted life years (DALYs averted associated with interventions is an increasing popular means of assessing the cost-effectiveness of strategies to improve population health. However, there has been no systematic attempt to characterize the literature and its evolution.We conducted a systematic review of cost-effectiveness studies reporting cost-per-DALY averted from 2000 through 2015. We developed the Global Health Cost-Effectiveness Analysis (GHCEA Registry, a repository of English-language cost-per-DALY averted studies indexed in PubMed. To identify candidate studies, we searched PubMed for articles with titles or abstracts containing the phrases "disability-adjusted" or "DALY". Two reviewers with training in health economics independently reviewed each article selected in our abstract review, gathering information using a standardized data collection form. We summarized descriptive characteristics on study methodology: e.g., intervention type, country of study, study funder, study perspective, along with methodological and reporting practices over two time periods: 2000-2009 and 2010-2015. We analyzed the types of costs included in analyses, the study quality on a scale from 1 (low to 7 (high, and examined the correlation between diseases researched and the burden of disease in different world regions.We identified 479 cost-per-DALY averted studies published from 2000 through 2015. Studies from Sub-Saharan Africa comprised the largest portion of published studies. The disease areas most commonly studied were communicable, maternal, neonatal, and nutritional disorders (67%, followed by non-communicable diseases (28%. A high proportion of studies evaluated primary prevention strategies (59%. Pharmaceutical interventions were commonly assessed (32% followed by immunizations (28%. Adherence to good practices for conducting and reporting cost-effectiveness analysis varied considerably. Studies mainly included

  7. Lowering the UK domestic radon Action Level to prevent more lung cancers-is it cost-effective?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Denman, A R; Groves-Kirkby, C J; Coskeran, T; Phillips, P S; Crockett, R G M; Tornberg, R

    2008-01-01

    Case studies have shown that radon gas can accumulate within domestic properties at sufficiently high levels that it can cause lung cancer, and recent studies have suggested that this risk remains significant below the UK domestic Action Level of 200 Bq m -3 . Raised radon levels can be reduced by engineering measures, and it has been shown that domestic radon remediation programmes in UK Affected Areas can result in reduced risks to the population and can be cost-effective. We consider here the benefits and costs of the domestic radon remediation programme in Northamptonshire, UK, and consider the implications for that programme of reducing the UK Action Level below its present value. A radon remediation programme based on an Action Level above 200 Bq m -3 will cost less and will target those most at risk, but will be less cost-effective and will lead to higher residual dose and greater risk of cancer in the remaining population. Reducing the Action Level below 200 Bq m -3 will prevent more cancers, but at significantly higher cost. It will also be less cost-effective, because remediation of a significant number of houses with moderate radon levels will provide only a modest health benefit to occupants. Overall, a completed radon remediation programme of the type implemented in Northamptonshire is most cost-effective for an Action Level between 200 and 300 Bq m -3 . The implications for future health policy are discussed

  8. Comparative costs and cost-effectiveness of behavioural interventions as part of HIV prevention strategies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hsu, Justine; Zinsou, Cyprien; Parkhurst, Justin; N'Dour, Marguerite; Foyet, Léger; Mueller, Dirk H

    2013-01-01

    Behavioural interventions have been widely integrated in HIV/AIDS social marketing prevention strategies and are considered valuable in settings with high levels of risk behaviours and low levels of HIV/AIDS awareness. Despite their widespread application, there is a lack of economic evaluations comparing different behaviour change communication methods. This paper analyses the costs to increase awareness and the cost-effectiveness to influence behaviour change for five interventions in Benin. Cost and cost-effectiveness analyses used economic costs and primary effectiveness data drawn from surveys. Costs were collected for provider inputs required to implement the interventions in 2009 and analysed by 'person reached'. Cost-effectiveness was analysed by 'person reporting systematic condom use'. Sensitivity analyses were performed on all uncertain variables and major assumptions. Cost-per-person reached varies by method, with public outreach events the least costly (US$2.29) and billboards the most costly (US$25.07). Influence on reported behaviour was limited: only three of the five interventions were found to have a significant statistical correlation with reported condom use (i.e. magazines, radio broadcasts, public outreach events). Cost-effectiveness ratios per person reporting systematic condom use resulted in the following ranking: magazines, radio and public outreach events. Sensitivity analyses indicate rankings are insensitive to variation of key parameters although ratios must be interpreted with caution. This analysis suggests that while individual interventions are an attractive use of resources to raise awareness, this may not translate into a cost-effective impact on behaviour change. The study found that the extensive reach of public outreach events did not seem to influence behaviour change as cost-effectively when compared with magazines or radio broadcasts. Behavioural interventions are context-specific and their effectiveness influenced by a

  9. Cost and cost-effectiveness of PPM-DOTS for tuberculosis control: evidence from India.

    OpenAIRE

    Floyd, Katherine; Arora, V. K.; Murthy, K. J. R.; Lonnroth, Knut; Singla, Neeta; Akbar, Y.; Zignol, Matteo; Uplekar, Mukund

    2006-01-01

    OBJECTIVE: To assess the cost and cost-effectiveness of the Public-Private Mix DOTS (PPM-DOTS) strategy for tuberculosis (TB) control in India. METHODS: We collected data on the costs and effects of pilot PPM-DOTS projects in Delhi and Hyderabad using documentary data and interviews. The cost of PPM-DOTS was compared with public sector DOTS (i.e. DOTS delivered through public sector facilities only) and non-DOTS treatment in the private sector. Costs for 2002 in US$ were assessed for the publ...

  10. Clinical benefits, costs, and cost-effectiveness of neonatal intensive care in Mexico.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jochen Profit

    2010-12-01

    Full Text Available Neonatal intensive care improves survival, but is associated with high costs and disability amongst survivors. Recent health reform in Mexico launched a new subsidized insurance program, necessitating informed choices on the different interventions that might be covered by the program, including neonatal intensive care. The purpose of this study was to estimate the clinical outcomes, costs, and cost-effectiveness of neonatal intensive care in Mexico.A cost-effectiveness analysis was conducted using a decision analytic model of health and economic outcomes following preterm birth. Model parameters governing health outcomes were estimated from Mexican vital registration and hospital discharge databases, supplemented with meta-analyses and systematic reviews from the published literature. Costs were estimated on the basis of data provided by the Ministry of Health in Mexico and World Health Organization price lists, supplemented with published studies from other countries as needed. The model estimated changes in clinical outcomes, life expectancy, disability-free life expectancy, lifetime costs, disability-adjusted life years (DALYs, and incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs for neonatal intensive care compared to no intensive care. Uncertainty around the results was characterized using one-way sensitivity analyses and a multivariate probabilistic sensitivity analysis. In the base-case analysis, neonatal intensive care for infants born at 24-26, 27-29, and 30-33 weeks gestational age prolonged life expectancy by 28, 43, and 34 years and averted 9, 15, and 12 DALYs, at incremental costs per infant of US$11,400, US$9,500, and US$3,000, respectively, compared to an alternative of no intensive care. The ICERs of neonatal intensive care at 24-26, 27-29, and 30-33 weeks were US$1,200, US$650, and US$240, per DALY averted, respectively. The findings were robust to variation in parameter values over wide ranges in sensitivity analyses

  11. Gedanken Experiments in Educational Cost Effectiveness

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brudner, Harvey J.

    1978-01-01

    Discusses the effectiveness of cost determining techniques in education. The areas discussed are: education and management; cost-effectiveness models; figures of merit determination; and the implications as they relate to the areas of audio-visual and computer educational technology. (Author/GA)

  12. Reactive control processes contributing to residual switch cost and mixing cost in young and old adults

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lisa Rebecca Whitson

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available In task-switching paradigms, performance is better when repeating the same task than when alternating between tasks (switch cost and when repeating a task alone rather than intermixed with another task (mixing cost. These costs remain even after extensive practice and when task cues enable advanced preparation (residual costs. Moreover, residual RT mixing cost has been consistently shown to increase with age. Residual switch and mixing costs modulate the amplitude of the stimulus-locked P3b. This mixing effect is disproportionately larger in older adults who also prepare more for and respond more cautiously on these ‘mixed’ repeat trials (Karayanidis et al., 2011. In this study, we examine stimulus-locked and response-locked P3 and lateralized readiness potentials to identify whether residual switch and mixing cost arise from the need to control interference at the level of stimulus processing or response processing. Residual mixing cost was associated with control of stimulus-level interference, whereas residual switch cost was also associated with a delay in response selection. In older adults, the disproportionate increase in mixing cost was associated with greater interference at the level of decision-response mapping and response programming for repeat trials in mixed-task blocks. We argue that, together with evidence of greater proactive control and more cautious responding for these trials, these findings suggest that older adults strategically recruit greater proactive and reactive control to overcome increased susceptibility to post-stimulus interference. This interpretation is consistent with recruitment of compensatory strategies to compensate for reduced repetition benefit rather than an overall decline on cognitive flexibility.

  13. [Incremental cost effectiveness of multifocal cataract surgery].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pagel, N; Dick, H B; Krummenauer, F

    2007-02-01

    Supplementation of cataract patients with multifocal intraocular lenses involves an additional financial investment when compared to the corresponding monofocal supplementation, which usually is not funded by German health care insurers. In the context of recent resource allocation discussions, however, the cost effectiveness of multifocal cataract surgery could become an important rationale. Therefore an evidence-based estimation of its cost effectiveness was carried out. Three independent meta-analyses were implemented to estimate the gain in uncorrected near visual acuity and best corrected visual acuity (vision lines) as well as the predictability (fraction of patients without need for reading aids) of multifocal supplementation. Study reports published between 1995 and 2004 (English or German language) were screened for appropriate key words. Meta effects in visual gain and predictability were estimated by means and standard deviations of the reported effect measures. Cost data were estimated by German DRG rates and individual lens costs; the cost effectiveness of multifocal cataract surgery was then computed in terms of its marginal cost effectiveness ratio (MCER) for each clinical benefit endpoint; the incremental costs of multifocal versus monofocal cataract surgery were further estimated by means of their respective incremental cost effectiveness ratio (ICER). An independent meta-analysis estimated the complication profiles to be expected after monofocal and multifocal cataract surgery in order to evaluate expectable complication-associated additional costs of both procedures; the marginal and incremental cost effectiveness estimates were adjusted accordingly. A sensitivity analysis comprised cost variations of +/- 10 % and utility variations alongside the meta effect estimate's 95 % confidence intervals. Total direct costs from the health care insurer's perspective were estimated 3363 euro, associated with a visual meta benefit in best corrected visual

  14. Cost-effective treatment for the couple with infertility.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Van Voorhis, B J; Syrop, C H

    2000-12-01

    Although the evaluation of cost-effective approaches to infertility treatment remains in its infancy, several important principles have emerged from the initial studies in this field. Currently, in treating couples with infertility without tubal disease or severe male-factor infertility, the most cost-effective approach is to start with IUI or superovulation-IUI treatments before resorting to IVF procedures. The woman's age and number of sperm present for insemination are significant factors influencing cost-effectiveness. The influence of certain diagnoses on the cost-effectiveness of infertility treatments requires further study. Even when accounting for the costs associated with multiple gestations and premature deliveries, the cost of IVF decreases within the range of other cost-effective medical procedures and decreases to less than the willingness to pay for these procedures. Indeed, for patients with severe tubal disease, IVF has been found to be more cost-effective than surgical repair. The cost-effectiveness of IVF will likely improve as success rates show continued improvements over the course of time. In addition, usefulness of embryo selection and practices to reduce the likelihood of high-order multiple pregnancies, without reductions in pregnancy rates, will significantly impact cost-effectiveness. The exclusion of infertility treatments from insurance plans is unfortunate and accentuates the importance of physicians understanding the economics of infertility treatment with costs that are often passed directly to the patient. The erroneous economic policies and judgments that have led to inequities in access to infertility health care should not be tolerated.

  15. 49 CFR 639.21 - Determination of cost-effectiveness.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 49 Transportation 7 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Determination of cost-effectiveness. 639.21... ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION CAPITAL LEASES Cost-Effectiveness § 639.21 Determination of cost...-effectiveness comparison as described in this subpart, it may ask FTA to approve an alternate form of cost...

  16. Cost-Effectiveness Analysis of Microscopic and Endoscopic Transsphenoidal Surgery Versus Medical Therapy in the Management of Microprolactinoma in the United States.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jethwa, Pinakin R; Patel, Tapan D; Hajart, Aaron F; Eloy, Jean Anderson; Couldwell, William T; Liu, James K

    2016-03-01

    Although prolactinomas are treated effectively with dopamine agonists, some have proposed curative surgical resection for select cases of microprolactinomas to avoid life-long medical therapy. We performed a cost-effectiveness analysis comparing transsphenoidal surgery (either microsurgical or endoscopic) and medical therapy (either bromocriptine or cabergoline) with decision analysis modeling. A 2-armed decision tree was created with TreeAge Pro Suite 2012 to compare upfront transsphenoidal surgery versus medical therapy. The economic perspective was that of the health care third-party payer. On the basis of a literature review, we assigned plausible distributions for costs and utilities to each potential outcome, taking into account medical and surgical costs and complications. Base-case analysis, sensitivity analysis, and Monte Carlo simulations were performed to determine the cost-effectiveness of each strategy at 5-year and 10-year time horizons. In the base-case scenario, microscopic transsphenoidal surgery was the most cost-effective option at 5 years from the time of diagnosis; however, by the 10-year time horizon, endoscopic transsphenoidal surgery became the most cost-effective option. At both time horizons, medical therapy (both bromocriptine and cabergoline) were found to be more costly and less effective than transsphenoidal surgery (i.e., the medical arm was dominated by the surgical arm in this model). Two-way sensitivity analysis demonstrated that endoscopic resection would be the most cost-effective strategy if the cure rate from endoscopic surgery was greater than 90% and the complication rate was less than 1%. Monte Carlo simulation was performed for endoscopic surgery versus microscopic surgery at both time horizons. This analysis produced an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of $80,235 per quality-adjusted life years at 5 years and $40,737 per quality-adjusted life years at 10 years, implying that with increasing time intervals, endoscopic

  17. Incorporating social justice and stigma in cost-effectiveness analysis: drug-resistant tuberculosis treatment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zwerling, A; Dowdy, D; von Delft, A; Taylor, H; Merritt, M W

    2017-11-01

    Novel therapies for multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) are likely to be expensive. The cost of novel drugs (e.g., bedaquiline, delamanid) may be so prohibitively high that a traditional cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA) would rate regimens containing these drugs as not cost-effective. Traditional CEA may not appropriately account for considerations of social justice, and may put the most disadvantaged populations at greater risk. Using the example of novel drug regimens for MDR-TB, we propose a novel methodology, 'justice-enhanced CEA', and demonstrate how such an approach can simultaneously assess social justice impacts alongside traditional cost-effectiveness ratios. Justice-enhanced CEA, as we envision it, is performed in three steps: 1) systematic data collection about patients' lived experiences, 2) use of empirical findings to inform social justice assessments, and 3) incorporation of data-informed social justice assessments into a decision analytic framework that includes traditional CEA. These components are organized around a core framework of social justice developed by Bailey et al. to compare impacts on disadvantage not otherwise captured by CEA. Formal social justice assessments can produce three composite levels: 'expected not to worsen…', 'may worsen…', and 'expected to worsen clustering of disadvantage'. Levels of social justice impact would be assessed for each major type of outcome under each policy scenario compared. Social justice assessments are then overlaid side-by-side with cost-effectiveness assessments corresponding to each branch pathway on the decision tree. In conclusion, we present a 'justice-enhanced' framework that enables the incorporation of social justice concerns into traditional CEA for the evaluation of new regimens for MDR-TB.

  18. Cost-effectiveness analysis of repeat fine-needle aspiration for thyroid biopsies read as atypia of undetermined significance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heller, Michael; Zanocco, Kyle; Zydowicz, Sara; Elaraj, Dina; Nayar, Ritu; Sturgeon, Cord

    2012-09-01

    The 2007 National Cancer Institute (NCI) conference on Thyroid Fine-Needle Aspiration (FNA) introduced the category atypia of undetermined significance (AUS) or follicular lesion of undetermined significance (FLUS). Repeat FNA in 3 to 6 months was recommended for low-risk patients. Compliance with these recommendations has been suboptimal. We hypothesized that repeat FNA would be more effective than diagnostic lobectomy, with decreased costs and improved rates of cancer detection. Cost-effectiveness analysis was performed in which we compared diagnostic lobectomy with repeat FNA. A Markov model was developed. Outcomes and probabilities were identified from literature review. Third-party payer costs were estimated in 2010 US dollars. Outcomes were weighted by use of the quality-of-life utility factors, yielding quality-adjusted life years (QALYs). Monte Carlo simulation and sensitivity analysis were used to examine the uncertainty of probability, cost, and utility estimates. The diagnostic lobectomy strategy cost $8,057 and produced 23.99 QALYs. Repeat FNA cost $2,462 and produced 24.05 QALYs. Repeat FNA was dominant until the cost of FNA increased to $6,091. Dominance of the repeat FNA strategy was not sensitive to the cost of operation or the complication rate. The NCI recommendations for repeat FNA regarding follow-up of AUS/FLUS results are cost-effective. Improving compliance with these guidelines should lead to less overall costs, greater quality of life, and fewer unnecessary operations. Copyright © 2012 Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

  19. The Cost-effectiveness of Alcohol Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) in Emergency and Outpatient Medical Settings.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barbosa, Carolina; Cowell, Alexander; Bray, Jeremy; Aldridge, Arnie

    2015-06-01

    This study analyzed the cost-effectiveness of delivering alcohol screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment (SBIRT) in emergency departments (ED) when compared to outpatient medical settings. A probabilistic decision analytic tree categorized patients into health states. Utility weights and social costs were assigned to each health state. Health outcome measures were the proportion of patients not drinking above threshold levels at follow-up, the proportion of patients transitioning from above threshold levels at baseline to abstinent or below threshold levels at follow-up, and the quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) gained. Expected costs under a provider perspective were the marginal costs of SBIRT, and under a societal perspective were the sum of SBIRT cost per patient and the change in social costs. Incremental cost-effectiveness ratios were computed. When considering provider costs only, compared to outpatient, SBIRT in ED cost $8.63 less, generated 0.005 more QALYs per patient, and resulted in 13.8% more patients drinking below threshold levels. Sensitivity analyses in which patients were assumed to receive a fixed number of treatment sessions that met clinical sites' guidelines made SBIRT more expensive in ED than outpatient; the ED remained more effective. In this sensitivity analysis, the ED was the most cost-effective setting if decision makers were willing to pay more than $1500 per QALY gained. Alcohol SBIRT generates costs savings and improves health in both ED and outpatient settings. EDs provide better effectiveness at a lower cost and greater social cost reductions than outpatient. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  20. Cost effectiveness of adding clostridial collagenase ointment to selective debridement in individuals with stage IV pressure ulcers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carter, Marissa J; Gilligan, Adrienne M; Waycaster, Curtis R; Schaum, Kathleen; Fife, Caroline E

    2017-03-01

    The purpose of this study was to determine the cost effectiveness (from a payer's perspective) of adding clostridial collagenase ointment (CCO) to selective debridement compared with selective debridement alone (non-CCO) in the treatment of stage IV pressure ulcers among patients identified from the US Wound Registry. A 3-state Markov model was developed to determine costs and outcomes between the CCO and non-CCO groups over a 2-year time horizon. Outcome data were derived from a retrospective clinical study and included the proportion of pressure ulcers that were closed (epithelialized) over 2 years and the time to wound closure. Transition probabilities for the Markov states were estimated from the clinical study. In the Markov model, the clinical outcome is presented as ulcer-free weeks, which represents the time the wound is in the epithelialized state. Costs for each 4-week cycle were based on frequencies of clinic visits, debridement, and CCO application rates from the clinical study. The final model outputs were cumulative costs (in US dollars), clinical outcome (ulcer-free weeks), and incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) at 2 years. Compared with the non-CCO group, the CCO group incurred lower costs ($11,151 vs $17,596) and greater benefits (33.9 vs 16.8 ulcer-free weeks), resulting in an economically dominant ICER of -$375 per ulcer. Thus, for each additional ulcer-free week that can be gained, there is a concurrent cost savings of $375 if CCO treatment is selected. Over a 2-year period, an additional 17.2 ulcer-free weeks can be gained with concurrent cost savings of $6,445 for each patient. In this Markov model based on real-world data from the US Wound Registry, the addition of CCO to selective debridement in the treatment of pressure ulcers was economically dominant over selective debridement alone, resulting in greater benefit to the patient at lower cost.

  1. Cost-effectiveness analysis of sandhill crane habitat management

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kessler, Andrew C.; Merchant, James W.; Shultz, Steven D.; Allen, Craig R.

    2013-01-01

    Invasive species often threaten native wildlife populations and strain the budgets of agencies charged with wildlife management. We demonstrate the potential of cost-effectiveness analysis to improve the efficiency and value of efforts to enhance sandhill crane (Grus canadensis) roosting habitat. We focus on the central Platte River in Nebraska (USA), a region of international ecological importance for migrating avian species including sandhill cranes. Cost-effectiveness analysis is a valuation process designed to compare alternative actions based on the cost of achieving a pre-determined objective. We estimated costs for removal of invasive vegetation using geographic information system simulations and calculated benefits as the increase in area of sandhill crane roosting habitat. We generated cost effectiveness values for removing invasive vegetation on 7 land parcels and for the entire central Platte River to compare the cost-effectiveness of management at specific sites and for the central Platte River landscape. Median cost effectiveness values for the 7 land parcels evaluated suggest that costs for creating 1 additional hectare of sandhill crane roosting habitat totaled US $1,595. By contrast, we found that creating an additional hectare of sandhill crane roosting habitat could cost as much as US $12,010 for some areas in the central Platte River, indicating substantial cost savings can be achieved by using a cost effectiveness analysis to target specific land parcels for management. Cost-effectiveness analysis, used in conjunction with geographic information systems, can provide decision-makers with a new tool for identifying the most economically efficient allocation of resources to achieve habitat management goals.

  2. Costs of diarrheal disease and the cost-effectiveness of a rotavirus vaccination program in kyrgyzstan.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Flem, Elmira T; Latipov, Renat; Nurmatov, Zuridin S; Xue, Yiting; Kasymbekova, Kaliya T; Rheingans, Richard D

    2009-11-01

    We examined the cost-effectiveness of a rotavirus immunization program in Kyrgyzstan, a country eligible for vaccine funding from the GAVI Alliance. We estimated the burden of rotavirus disease and its economic consequences by using national and international data. A cost-effectiveness analysis was conducted from government and societal perspectives, along with a range of 1-way sensitivity analyses. Rotavirus-related hospitalizations and outpatient visits cost US$580,864 annually, of which $421,658 (73%) is direct medical costs and $159,206 (27%) is nonmedical and indirect costs. With 95% coverage, vaccination could prevent 75% of rotavirus-related hospitalizations and deaths and 56% of outpatient visits and could avert $386,193 (66%) in total costs annually. The medical break-even price at which averted direct medical costs equal vaccination costs is $0.65/dose; the societal break-even price is $1.14/dose for a 2-dose regimen. At the current GAVI Alliance-subsidized vaccine price of $0.60/course, rotavirus vaccination is cost-saving for the government. Vaccination is cost-effective at a vaccine price $9.41/dose, according to the cost-effectiveness standard set by the 2002 World Health Report. Addition of rotavirus vaccines to childhood immunization in Kyrgyzstan could substantially reduce disease burden and associated costs. Vaccination would be cost-effective from the national perspective at a vaccine price $9.41 per dose.

  3. Effect of the Building Act 2011 on compliance costs in Western Australia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elizabeth Bazen

    2014-06-01

     This research compared the cost of approval for 16 building projects under the new and old approvals processes. The research concluded that the new approvals process appears to be cost-neutral for the building industry as a whole. However, the cost of approval for the 11 building projects studied valued up to $1 million, particularly alterations to existing buildings, is an average of 4.0 times greater under the new approvals process.

  4. Risk assessment and management of brucellosis in the southern greater Yellowstone area (II): Cost-benefit analysis of reducing elk brucellosis prevalence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boroff, Kari; Kauffman, Mandy; Peck, Dannele; Maichak, Eric; Scurlock, Brandon; Schumaker, Brant

    2016-11-01

    Recent cases of bovine brucellosis (Brucella abortus) in cattle (Bos taurus) and domestic bison (Bison bison) of the southern Greater Yellowstone Area (SGYA) have been traced back to free-ranging elk (Cervus elaphus). Several management activities have been implemented to reduce brucellosis seroprevalence in elk, including test-and-slaughter, low-density feeding at elk winter feedgrounds, and elk vaccination. It is unclear which of these activities are most cost-effective at reducing the risk of elk transmitting brucellosis to cattle. In a companion paper, a stochastic risk model was used to translate a reduction in elk seroprevalence to a reduction in the risk of transmission to cattle. Here, we use those results to estimate the expected economic benefits and costs of reducing seroprevalence in elk using three different management activities: vaccination of elk with Brucella strain 19 (S19), low-density feeding of elk, and elk test-and-slaughter. Results indicate that the three elk management activities yield negative expected net benefits, ranging from -$2983 per year for low-density feeding to -$595,471 per year for test-and-slaughter. Society's risk preferences will determine whether strategies that generate small negative net benefit, such as low-density feeding, are worth implementing. However, activities with large negative net benefits, such as test-and-slaughter and S19 vaccination, are unlikely to be economically worthwhile. Given uncertainty about various model parameters, we identify some circumstances in which individual management activities might generate positive expected net benefit. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  5. Cost and effectiveness comparison of two methods for screening potential blood donors for anaemia in Vietnam.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tyrrell, A; Worrall, E; Que, T N; Bates, I

    2011-06-01

    To compare the cost and effectiveness of Copper Sulphate (CS) and HemoCue (HC) methods for screening blood donors for anaemia. Robust information from developing countries about cost and effectiveness of anaemia screening methods for blood donors is scarce. In such countries there are widespread shortages of blood, so the most cost-effective method should maximise blood supply without compromising donor safety. Economic data (e.g. staff time, equipment and buildings) were collected from direct observation of procedures and purchase data from Hanoi's Central Blood Bank administrative department. A framework for comparing the cost and effectiveness of anaemia screening methods was developed and a cost per effective (i.e. usable and accurate) test was generated for each method. Samples from 100 potential donors from the Hanoi Central Blood Bank (static) and 198 from two mobile units were tested. The mean probability of an ineffective anaemia test was 0·1 (0·05-0·2). The average cost of an HC test was $0·75 (static $0·61 and mobile $0·89) and a CS test was $0·31 (static $0·17 and mobile $0·45). The difference between static and mobile units was predominantly due to transport costs; the difference between the two methods was predominantly due to the HC microcuvettes. In this setting the CS yields greater value for money than the HC method for screening blood donors. The relative cost and effectiveness of CS and HC may be different in places with higher staff turnover, lower test accuracy, higher anaemia prevalence or lower workload than in Vietnam. © 2010 Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine. Transfusion Medicine © 2010 British Blood Transfusion Society.

  6. Tuition fees and sunk-cost effects

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ketel, N.; Linde, J.; Oosterbeek, H.; van der Klaauw, B.

    2016-01-01

    This article reports on a field experiment testing for sunk-cost effects in an education setting. Students signing up for extra-curricular tutorial sessions randomly received a discount on the tuition fee. The sunk-cost effect predicts that students who pay more will attend more tutorial sessions,

  7. Potential cost effectiveness of intravenous tissue plasminogen activator versus streptokinase for acute myocardial infarction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goel, V; Naylor, C D

    1992-01-01

    An economic evaluation of the potential incremental benefits of intravenous tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) versus streptokinase (SK) for treatment of acute myocardial infarction. Cost effectiveness analysis from a third-party payer perspective (Ontario Ministry of Health). ECONOMIC INPUTS: Fully allocated costs for cardiovascular procedures and hospitalization for myocardial infarction were obtained anonymously for four Ontario teaching hospitals and converted to 1988 Canadian dollars. Professional charges were taken from the provincial health insurance fee schedule and drug costs obtained from the manufacturers. CLINICAL INPUTS: The baseline analysis was for nonelderly patients with uncomplicated myocardial infarctions; sensitivity analyses allowed extrapolation to higher risk subgroups. Short and longer term mortality and short term invasive procedure rates were estimated using data from clinical trials. If tPA achieves a 1% short term mortality advantage over SK with no advantages for other survivors, cost per life-year gained can be comparable to other cardiovascular interventions at $58,600. In the absence of immediate survival advantages, but assuming greater left ventricular preservation, the constant annual hazard rate advantage must be about 0.5% per year for competitive cost effectiveness ratios. A full range of projections is presented to help guide the policy decisions that will arise in the wake of the Global Utilization of SK and tPA for Occluded Coronary Arteries (GUSTO) trial. The analysis also illustrates the general importance of considering longer term effects of in-hospital therapies for acute myocardial infarction.

  8. Cost and cost-effectiveness of tuberculosis treatment shortening: a model-based analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gomez, G B; Dowdy, D W; Bastos, M L; Zwerling, A; Sweeney, S; Foster, N; Trajman, A; Islam, M A; Kapiga, S; Sinanovic, E; Knight, G M; White, R G; Wells, W A; Cobelens, F G; Vassall, A

    2016-12-01

    Despite improvements in treatment success rates for tuberculosis (TB), current six-month regimen duration remains a challenge for many National TB Programmes, health systems, and patients. There is increasing investment in the development of shortened regimens with a number of candidates in phase 3 trials. We developed an individual-based decision analytic model to assess the cost-effectiveness of a hypothetical four-month regimen for first-line treatment of TB, assuming non-inferiority to current regimens of six-month duration. The model was populated using extensive, empirically-collected data to estimate the economic impact on both health systems and patients of regimen shortening for first-line TB treatment in South Africa, Brazil, Bangladesh, and Tanzania. We explicitly considered 'real world' constraints such as sub-optimal guideline adherence. From a societal perspective, a shortened regimen, priced at USD1 per day, could be a cost-saving option in South Africa, Brazil, and Tanzania, but would not be cost-effective in Bangladesh when compared to one gross domestic product (GDP) per capita. Incorporating 'real world' constraints reduces cost-effectiveness. Patient-incurred costs could be reduced in all settings. From a health service perspective, increased drug costs need to be balanced against decreased delivery costs. The new regimen would remain a cost-effective option, when compared to each countries' GDP per capita, even if new drugs cost up to USD7.5 and USD53.8 per day in South Africa and Brazil; this threshold was above USD1 in Tanzania and under USD1 in Bangladesh. Reducing the duration of first-line TB treatment has the potential for substantial economic gains from a patient perspective. The potential economic gains for health services may also be important, but will be context-specific and dependent on the appropriate pricing of any new regimen.

  9. Some Observations on Cost-Effectiveness Analysis in Education.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Geske, Terry G.

    1979-01-01

    The general nature of cost-effectiveness analysis is discussed, analytical frameworks for conducting cost-effectiveness studies are described, and some of the problems inherent in measuring educational costs and in assessing program effectiveness are addressed. (Author/IRT)

  10. Cost-effective conservation planning: lessons from economics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Duke, Joshua M; Dundas, Steven J; Messer, Kent D

    2013-08-15

    Economists advocate that the billions of public dollars spent on conservation be allocated to achieve the largest possible social benefit. This is "cost-effective conservation"-a process that incorporates both monetized benefits and costs. Though controversial, cost-effective conservation is poorly understood and rarely implemented by planners. Drawing from the largest publicly financed conservation programs in the United States, this paper seeks to improve the communication from economists to planners and to overcome resistance to cost-effective conservation. Fifteen practical lessons are distilled, including the negative implications of limiting selection with political constraints, using nonmonetized benefit measures or benefit indices, ignoring development risk, using incomplete cost measures, employing cost measures sequentially, and using benefit indices to capture costs. The paper highlights interrelationships between benefits and complications such as capitalization and intertemporal planning. The paper concludes by identifying the challenges at the research frontier, including incentive problems associated with adverse selection, additionality, and slippage. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. A review on cost-effectiveness and cost-utility of psychosocial care in cancer patients

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Femke Jansen

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Several psychosocial care interventions have been found effective in improving psychosocial outcomes in cancer patients. At present, there is increasingly being asked for information on the value for money of this type of intervention. This review therefore evaluates current evidence from studies investigating cost-effectiveness or cost-utility of psychosocial care in cancer patients. A systematic search was conducted in PubMed and Web of Science yielding 539 unique records, of which 11 studies were included in the study. Studies were mainly performed in breast cancer populations or mixed cancer populations. Studied interventions included collaborative care (four studies, group interventions (four studies, individual psychological support (two studies, and individual psycho-education (one study. Seven studies assessed the cost-utility of psychosocial care (based on quality-adjusted-life-years while three studies investigated its cost-effectiveness (based on profile of mood states [mood], Revised Impact of Events Scale [distress], 12-Item Health Survey [mental health], or Fear of Progression Questionnaire [fear of cancer progression]. One study did both. Costs included were intervention costs (three studies, intervention and direct medical costs (five studies, or intervention, direct medical, and direct nonmedical costs (three studies. In general, results indicated that psychosocial care is likely to be cost-effective at different, potentially acceptable, willingness-to-pay thresholds. Further research should be performed to provide more clear information as to which psychosocial care interventions are most cost-effective and for whom. In addition, more research should be performed encompassing potential important cost drivers from a societal perspective, such as productivity losses or informal care costs, in the analyses.

  12. Efficacy, outcomes, and cost-effectiveness of desensitization using IVIG and rituximab.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vo, Ashley A; Petrozzino, Jeffrey; Yeung, Kai; Sinha, Aditi; Kahwaji, Joseph; Peng, Alice; Villicana, Rafael; Mackowiak, John; Jordan, Stanley C

    2013-03-27

    Transplantation rates are very low for the broadly sensitized patient (panel reactive antibody [PRA]>80%; HS). Here, we examine the efficacy, outcomes, and cost-effectiveness of desensitization using high-dose intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) and rituximab to improve transplantation rates in HS patients. From July 2006 to December 2011, 207 HS (56 living donors/151 deceased donors) patients (donor-specific antibody positive, PRA>80%) were desensitized using IVIG and rituximab. After desensitization, responsive patients proceeded to transplantation with an acceptable crossmatch. Cost and outcomes of desensitization were compared with dialysis. Of the 207 treated patients, 146 (71%) were transplanted. At 48 months, patient and graft survival by Kaplan-Meier were 95% and 87.5%, respectively. The total 3-year cost for patients treated in the desensitization arm was $219,914 per patient compared with $238,667 per patient treated in the dialysis arm. Thus, each patient treated with desensitization is estimated to save the U.S. healthcare system $18,753 in 2011 USD. Overall, estimated patient survival at the end of 3 years was 96.6% for patients in the desensitization arm of the model (based on Cedars-Sinai survival rate) compared with 79.0% for an age, end-stage renal disease etiology, and PRA matched group of patients remaining on dialysis during the study period. We conclude that desensitization with IVIG+rituximab is clinically and cost-effective, with both financial savings and an estimated 17.6% greater probability of 3-year survival associated with desensitization versus dialysis alone. However, the benefits of desensitization and transplantation are limited by organ availability and allocation policies.

  13. Inequalities in the distribution of the costs of alcohol misuse in Scotland: a cost of illness study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnston, Marjorie C; Ludbrook, Anne; Jaffray, Mariesha A

    2012-01-01

    To examine the distribution of the costs of alcohol misuse across Scotland in 2009/2010, in relation to deprivation. A cost of illness approach was used. Alcohol-related harmful effects were assessed for inclusion using a literature review. This was based upon the following categories: direct healthcare costs, intangible health costs, social care costs, crime costs and labour and productivity costs. An analysis of secondary data supplemented by a literature review was carried out to quantify each harmful effect, determine its value and provide an estimate of the distribution by deprivation. The deprivation distributions used were area measures (primarily the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation). The overall cost was £7457 million. Two alcohol harmful effects were not included in the overall cost by deprivation due to a lack of data. These were 'children's social work and hearing system' and the criminal justice system costs from 'alcohol-specific offences'. The included alcohol harmful effects demonstrated that 40.41% of the total cost arose from the 20% most deprived areas. The intangible cost category was the largest category (78.65%). The study found that the burden of alcohol harmful effects is greater in deprived groups and these burdens do not simply arise from deprived groups but are also experienced more by these groups. The study was limited by a lack of data availability in certain areas, leading to less-precise cost estimates.

  14. Systematic Review of the Cost and Cost-Effectiveness of Rapid Endovascular Therapy for Acute Ischemic Stroke.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sevick, Laura K; Ghali, Sarah; Hill, Michael D; Danthurebandara, Vishva; Lorenzetti, Diane L; Noseworthy, Tom; Spackman, Eldon; Clement, Fiona

    2017-09-01

    Rapid endovascular therapy (EVT) is an emerging treatment option for acute ischemic stroke. Several economic evaluations have been published examining the cost-effectiveness of EVT, and many international bodies are currently making adoption decisions. The objective of this study was to establish the cost-effectiveness of EVT for ischemic stroke patients and to synthesize all the publicly available economic literature. A systematic review of the published literature was conducted to identify economic evaluations and cost analyses of EVT for acute ischemic stroke patients. Systematic review best practices were followed, and study quality was assessed. Four-hundred sixty-three articles were identified from electronic databases. After deduplication, abstract review, and full-text review, 17 studies were included. Seven of the studies were cost analyses, and 10 were cost-effectiveness studies. Generally, the cost analyses reported on the cost of the approach/procedure or the hospitalization costs associated with EVT. All of the cost-effectiveness studies reported a cost per quality-adjusted life year as the primary outcomes. Studies varied in regards to the costs considered, the perspective adopted, and the time horizon used. All the studies reported a cost per quality-adjusted life year of cost and cost-effectiveness of EVT. The cost analyses suggested that although EVT was associated with higher costs, it also resulted in improved patient outcomes. From the cost-effectiveness studies, EVT seems to be good value for money when a threshold of $50 000 per quality-adjusted life year gained is adopted. © 2017 American Heart Association, Inc.

  15. A cost-effectiveness analysis of calcipotriol plus betamethasone dipropionate aerosol foam versus gel for the topical treatment of plaque psoriasis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Foley, Peter; Garrett, Sinead; Ryttig, Lasse

    2018-01-24

    Calcipotriol 50 µg/g and betamethasone 0.5 mg/g dipropionate (Cal/BD) aerosol foam formulation provides greater effectiveness and improved patient preference compared with traditional Cal/BD formulations for the topical treatment of plaque psoriasis. To determine the cost-effectiveness of Cal/BD foam compared with Cal/BD gel from the Australian perspective. A Markov model was developed to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of topical Cal/BD foam and gel for the treatment of people with plaque psoriasis. Treatment effectiveness, safety, and utilities were based on a randomized control trial, resource use was informed by expert opinion, and unit costs were obtained from public sources. Outcomes were reported in terms of 1-year costs, quality-adjusted life years, and incremental cost-effectiveness ratios. All costs were reported in 2017 Australian Dollars. The model showed that patients using Cal/BD foam had more QALYs and higher costs over 1 year compared with patients using Cal/BD gel, resulting in a cost of $13,609 per QALY gained at 4-weeks. When 4 weeks of Cal/BD foam was compared with 8 weeks of Cal/BD gel treatment, Cal/BD foam was $8 less expensive and resulted in 0.006 more QALYs gained. Sensitivity analyses showed that, compared with Cal/BD ointment, Cal/BD foam was associated with an incremental cost of $15,091 per QALY gained. Cal/BD foam is the most cost-effective Cal/BD formulation for the topical treatment of patients with plaque psoriasis.

  16. Decision tree analysis to assess the cost-effectiveness of yttrium microspheres for treatment of hepatic metastases from colorectal cancer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kelley, B.B.; Walker, G.D.; Miles, K.A.

    2002-01-01

    Full text: The aim is to determine the cost-effectiveness of yttrium microsphere treatment of hepatic metastases from colorectal cancer, with and without FDG-PET for detection of extra-hepatic disease. A decision tree was created comparing two strategies for yttrium treatment with chemotherapy, one incorporating PET in addition to CT in the pre-treatment work-up, to a strategy of chemotherapy alone. The sensitivity and specificity of PET and CT were obtained from the Federal Government PET review. Imaging costs were obtained from the Medicare benefits schedule with an additional capital component added for PET (final cost $1200). The cost of yttrium treatment was determined by patient-tracking. Previously published reports indicated a mean gain in life-expectancy from treatment of 0.52 years. Patients with extra-hepatic metastases were assumed to receive no survival benefit. Cost effectiveness was expressed as incremental cost per life-year gained (ICER). Sensitivity analysis determined the effect of prior probability of extra-hepatic disease on cost-savings and cost-effectiveness. The cost of yttrium treatment including angiography, particle perfusion studies and bed-stays, was $10530. A baseline value for prior probability of extra-hepatic disease of 0.35 gave ICERs of $26,378 and $25,271 for the no-PET and PET strategies respectively. The PET strategy was less expensive if the prior probability of extra-hepatic metastases was greater than 0.16 and more cost-effective if above 0.28. Yttrium microsphere treatment is less cost-effective than other interventions for colon cancer but comparable to other accepted health interventions. Incorporating PET into the pre-treatment assessment is likely to save costs and improve cost-effectiveness. Copyright (2002) The Australian and New Zealand Society of Nuclear Medicine Inc

  17. Cost effectiveness of radon mitigation in Canada

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Letourneau, E.G.; Krewski, D.; Zielinski, J.M.; McGregor, R.G.

    1992-01-01

    This paper examines the cost effectiveness of comprehensive strategies for reducing exposure to radon gas in indoor air in Canadian homes. The analysis is conducted within the context of a general framework for risk management programme evaluation which includes well-known evaluation techniques such as cost effectiveness and cost-benefit analyses as special cases. Based on this analysis, it is clear that any comprehensive programme to reduce exposure to environmental radon will be extremely expensive, and may not be justifiable in terms of health impact, particularly when considered in relation to other public health programmes. Testing of homes at the point of sale and installing sub-slab suction equipment to reduce exposure to indoor radon where necessary appears to be a relatively cost-effective radon mitigation strategy. In general, radon mitigation was found to be most cost effective in cities with relatively high levels of radon. (author)

  18. Is expanding Medicare coverage cost-effective?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Muennig Peter

    2005-03-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Proposals to expand Medicare coverage tend to be expensive, but the value of services purchased is not known. This study evaluates the efficiency of the average private supplemental insurance plan for Medicare recipients. Methods Data from the National Health Interview Survey, the National Death Index, and the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey were analyzed to estimate the costs, changes in life expectancy, and health-related quality of life gains associated with providing private supplemental insurance coverage for Medicare beneficiaries. Model inputs included socio-demographic, health, and health behavior characteristics. Parameter estimates from regression models were used to predict quality-adjusted life years (QALYs and costs associated with private supplemental insurance relative to Medicare only. Markov decision analysis modeling was then employed to calculate incremental cost-effectiveness ratios. Results Medicare supplemental insurance is associated with increased health care utilization, but the additional costs associated with this utilization are offset by gains in quality-adjusted life expectancy. The incremental cost-effectiveness of private supplemental insurance is approximately $24,000 per QALY gained relative to Medicare alone. Conclusion Supplemental insurance for Medicare beneficiaries is a good value, with an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio comparable to medical interventions commonly deemed worthwhile.

  19. Cost-effectiveness of negative pressure wound therapy in patients with many comorbidities and severe wounds of various etiology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Driver, Vickie R; Eckert, Kristen A; Carter, Marissa J; French, Michael A

    2016-11-01

    This study analyzed a cross-section of patients with severe chronic wounds and multiple comorbidities at an outpatient wound clinic, with regard to the cost-effectiveness and cost-benefit of negative pressure wound therapy (intervention) vs. no negative pressure wound therapy (control) at 1 and 2 years. Medicare reimbursement charges for wound care were used to calculate costs. Amputation charges were assessed using diagnosis-related groups. Cost-benefit analysis was based on ulcer-free months and cost-effectiveness on quality-adjusted life-years. Undiscounted costs, benefits, quality-adjusted life-years, undiscounted and discounted incremental net health benefits, and incremental cost-effectiveness ratios were calculated for unmatched and matched cohorts. There were 150 subjects in the intervention group and 154 controls before matching and 103 subjects in each of the matched cohorts. Time to heal for the intervention cohort was significantly shorter compared to the controls (270 vs. 635 days, p = 1.0 × 10 -7 , matched cohorts). The intervention cohort had higher benefits and quality-adjusted life-year gains compared to the control cohort at years 1 and 2; by year 2, the gains were 68-73% higher. In the unmatched cohorts, the incremental net health benefit was $9,933 per ulcer-free month at year 2 for the intervention; the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio was -825,271 per quality-adjusted life-year gained (undiscounted costs and benefits). For the matched cohorts, the incremental net health benefits was only $1,371 per ulcer-free month for the intervention, but the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio was $366,683 per quality-adjusted life-year gained for year 2 (discounted costs and benefits). In a patient population with severe chronic wounds and serious comorbidities, negative pressure wound therapy resulted in faster healing wounds and was more cost-effective with greater cost-benefits than not using negative pressure wound therapy. Regarding overall

  20. Programas de mantenimiento de metadona con servicios auxiliares: un estudio de coste-efectividad Methadone maintenance programs with supplementary services: a cost-effectiveness study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    E. Puigdollers

    2003-04-01

    activity registries. Sociodemographic, health-related and toxicological data were collected through a semi-structured interview. A cost-effectiveness analysis was performed through two multiple linear regressions with the same adjusting variables. Results: The greater the number of supplementary services involved, the higher the costs. The adjusted models revealed a significant increase in health-related quality of life (an increase of 8% in the Nottingham Health Profile and in costs (17% between low- and medium-intensity programs. Conclusion: The medium-intensity program showed the best cost-effectiveness ratio. However, the study's limitations preclude categoric generalization of the data.

  1. Reactive control processes contributing to residual switch cost and mixing cost across the adult lifespan.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Whitson, Lisa R; Karayanidis, Frini; Fulham, Ross; Provost, Alexander; Michie, Patricia T; Heathcote, Andrew; Hsieh, Shulan

    2014-01-01

    In task-switching paradigms, performance is better when repeating the same task than when alternating between tasks (switch cost) and when repeating a task alone rather than intermixed with another task (mixing cost). These costs remain even after extensive practice and when task cues enable advanced preparation (residual costs). Moreover, residual reaction time mixing cost has been consistently shown to increase with age. Residual switch and mixing costs modulate the amplitude of the stimulus-locked P3b. This mixing effect is disproportionately larger in older adults who also prepare more for and respond more cautiously on these "mixed" repeat trials (Karayanidis et al., 2011). In this paper, we analyze stimulus-locked and response-locked P3 and lateralized readiness potentials to identify whether residual switch and mixing cost arise from the need to control interference at the level of stimulus processing or response processing. Residual mixing cost was associated with control of stimulus-level interference, whereas residual switch cost was also associated with a delay in response selection. In older adults, the disproportionate increase in mixing cost was associated with greater interference at the level of decision-response mapping and response programming for repeat trials in mixed-task blocks. These findings suggest that older adults strategically recruit greater proactive and reactive control to overcome increased susceptibility to post-stimulus interference. This interpretation is consistent with recruitment of compensatory strategies to compensate for reduced repetition benefit rather than an overall decline on cognitive flexibility.

  2. Global cost-effectiveness of GDM screening and management

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Weile, Louise K K; Kahn, James G; Marseille, Elliot

    2015-01-01

    a systematic search and abstraction of cost-effectiveness and cost-utility studies from 2002 to 2014. We standardized all findings to 2014 US dollars. We found that cost-effectiveness ratios varied widely. Most variation was found to be due to differences in geographic setting, diagnostic criteria...... and intervention approaches, and outcomes (e.g., inclusion or exclusion of long-term type 2 diabetes risk and associated costs). We concluded that incorporation of long-term benefits of GDM screening and treatment has huge impact on cost-effectiveness estimates. Based on the large methodological heterogeneity...

  3. 10 CFR 436.13 - Presuming cost-effectiveness results.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 10 Energy 3 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Presuming cost-effectiveness results. 436.13 Section 436... Methodology and Procedures for Life Cycle Cost Analyses § 436.13 Presuming cost-effectiveness results. (a) If the investment and other costs for an energy or water conservation measure considered for retrofit to...

  4. Cost-effectiveness analysis and innovation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jena, Anupam B; Philipson, Tomas J

    2008-09-01

    While cost-effectiveness (CE) analysis has provided a guide to allocating often scarce resources spent on medical technologies, less emphasis has been placed on the effect of such criteria on the behavior of innovators who make health care technologies available in the first place. A better understanding of the link between innovation and cost-effectiveness analysis is particularly important given the large role of technological change in the growth in health care spending and the growing interest of explicit use of CE thresholds in leading technology adoption in several Westernized countries. We analyze CE analysis in a standard market context, and stress that a technology's cost-effectiveness is closely related to the consumer surplus it generates. Improved CE therefore often clashes with interventions to stimulate producer surplus, such as patents. We derive the inconsistency between technology adoption based on CE analysis and economic efficiency. Indeed, static efficiency, dynamic efficiency, and improved patient health may all be induced by the cost-effectiveness of the technology being at its worst level. As producer appropriation of the social surplus of an innovation is central to the dynamic efficiency that should guide CE adoption criteria, we exemplify how appropriation can be inferred from existing CE estimates. For an illustrative sample of technologies considered, we find that the median technology has an appropriation of about 15%. To the extent that such incentives are deemed either too low or too high compared to dynamically efficient levels, CE thresholds may be appropriately raised or lowered to improve dynamic efficiency.

  5. A cost effective CO2 strategy

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    , a scenario-part and a cost-benefit part. Air and sea modes are not analyzed. The model adopts a bottom-up approach to allow a detailed assessment of transport policy measures. Four generic areas of intervention were identified and the likely effect on CO2 emissions, socioeconomic efficiency and other...... are evaluated according to CO2 reduction potential and according to the ‘shadow price’ on a reduction of one ton CO2. The shadow price reflects the costs (and benefits) of the different measures. Comparing the measures it is possible to identify cost effective measures, but these measures are not necessarily...... by the Ministry of Transport, with the Technical University of Denmark as one of the main contributors. The CO2-strategy was to be based on the principle of cost-effectiveness. A model was set up to assist in the assessment. The model consists of a projection of CO2-emissions from road and rail modes from 2020...

  6. What is the most cost-effective strategy to screen for left ventricular systolic dysfunction: natriuretic peptides, the electrocardiogram, hand-held echocardiography, traditional echocardiography, or their combination?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Galasko, Gavin I W; Barnes, Sophie C; Collinson, Paul; Lahiri, Avijit; Senior, Roxy

    2006-01-01

    To assess the screening characteristics and cost-effectiveness of screening for left ventricular systolic dysfunction (LVSD) in community subjects. A total of 1392 members of the general public and 928 higher risk subjects were randomly selected from seven community practices. Attending subjects underwent an ECG, N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NTproBNP) serum levels, and traditional echocardiography (TE). A total of 533 consecutive subjects underwent hand-held echocardiography (HE). The screening characteristics and cost-effectiveness (cost per case of LVSD diagnosed) of eight strategies to predict LVSD (LVSD cost-effective, screening low-risk subjects least cost-effective. TE screening was the least cost-effective strategy. NTproBNP screening gave similar cost savings to ECG screening; HE screening greater cost-savings, and HE screening following NTproBNP or ECG pre-screening the greatest cost-savings, costing approximately 650 Euros per case of LVSD diagnosed in high-risk subjects (63% cost-savings vs.TE). Thus several different modalities allow cost-effective community-based screening for LVSD, especially in high-risk subjects. Such programmes would be cost-effective and miss few cases of LVSD in the community.

  7. Modelling User-Costs in Life Cycle Cost-Benefit (LCCB) analysis

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Thoft-Christensen, Palle

    2008-01-01

    The importance of including user's costs in Life-Cycle Cost-Benefit analysis of structures is discussed in this paper. This is especially for bridges of great importance. Repair or/and failure of a bridge will usually result in user costs greater than the repair or replacement costs of the bridge...

  8. Modeling a farm population to estimate on-farm compliance costs and environmental effects of a grassland extensification scheme at the regional scale

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Uthes, Sandra; Sattler, Claudia; Piorr, Annette

    2010-01-01

    We used a farm-level modeling approach to estimate on-farm compliance costs and environmental effects of a grassland extensification scheme in the district of Ostprignitz-Ruppin, Germany. The behavior of the regional farm population (n = 585) consisting of different farm types with different...... and environmental effects were heterogeneous in space and farm types as a result of different agricultural production and site characteristics. On-farm costs ranged from zero up to almost 1500 Euro/ha. Such high costs occurred only in a very small part of the regional area, whereas the majority of the grassland had...... low on-farm costs below 50 Euro/ha. Environmental effects were moderate and greater on high-yield than on low-yield grassland. The low effectiveness combined with low on-farm costs in large parts of the region indicates that the scheme is not well targeted. The soft scheme design results from...

  9. Planning for greater-confinement disposal

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gilbert, T.L.; Luner, C.; Meshkov, N.K.; Trevorrow, L.E.; Yu, C.

    1984-01-01

    This contribution is a progress report for preparation of a document that will summarize procedures and technical information needed to plan for and implement greater-confinement disposal (GCD) of low-level radioactive waste. Selection of a site and a facility design (Phase I), and construction, operation, and extended care (Phase II) will be covered in the document. This progress report is limited to Phase I. Phase I includes determination of the need for GCD, design alternatives, and selection of a site and facility design. Alternative designs considered are augered shafts, deep trenches, engineered structures, high-integrity containers, hydrofracture, and improved waste form. Design considerations and specifications, performance elements, cost elements, and comparative advantages and disadvantages of the different designs are covered. Procedures are discussed for establishing overall performance objectives and waste-acceptance criteria, and for comparative assessment of the performance and cost of the different alternatives. 16 references

  10. Planning for greater-confinement disposal

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gilbert, T.L.; Luner, C.; Meshkov, N.K.; Trevorrow, L.E.; Yu, C.

    1984-01-01

    This contribution is a progress report for preparation of a document that will summarize procedures and technical information needed to plan for and implement greater-confinement disposal (GCD) of low-level radioactive waste. Selection of a site and a facility design (Phase I), and construction, operation, and extended care (Phase II) will be covered in the document. This progress report is limited to Phase I. Phase I includes determination of the need for GCD, design alternatives, and selection of a site and facility design. Alternative designs considered are augered shafts, deep trenches, engineered structures, high-integrity containers, hydrofracture, and improved waste form. Design considerations and specifications, performance elements, cost elements, and comparative advantages and disadvantages of the different designs are covered. Procedures are discussed for establishing overall performance objecties and waste-acceptance criteria, and for comparative assessment of the performance and cost of the different alternatives. 16 refs

  11. Estimating the Reference Incremental Cost-Effectiveness Ratio for the Australian Health System.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Edney, Laura Catherine; Haji Ali Afzali, Hossein; Cheng, Terence Chai; Karnon, Jonathan

    2018-02-01

    Spending on new healthcare technologies increases net population health when the benefits of a new technology are greater than their opportunity costs-the benefits of the best alternative use of the additional resources required to fund a new technology. The objective of this study was to estimate the expected incremental cost per quality-adjusted life-year (QALY) gained of increased government health expenditure as an empirical estimate of the average opportunity costs of decisions to fund new health technologies. The estimated incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) is proposed as a reference ICER to inform value-based decision making in Australia. Empirical top-down approaches were used to estimate the QALY effects of government health expenditure with respect to reduced mortality and morbidity. Instrumental variable two-stage least-squares regression was used to estimate the elasticity of mortality-related QALY losses to a marginal change in government health expenditure. Regression analysis of longitudinal survey data representative of the general population was used to isolate the effects of increased government health expenditure on morbidity-related, QALY gains. Clinical judgement informed the duration of health-related quality-of-life improvement from the annual increase in government health expenditure. The base-case reference ICER was estimated at AUD28,033 per QALY gained. Parametric uncertainty associated with the estimation of mortality- and morbidity-related QALYs generated a 95% confidence interval AUD20,758-37,667. Recent public summary documents suggest new technologies with ICERs above AUD40,000 per QALY gained are recommended for public funding. The empirical reference ICER reported in this article suggests more QALYs could be gained if resources were allocated to other forms of health spending.

  12. Cost effectiveness of a telephone intervention to promote dilated fundus examination in adults with diabetes mellitus

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Clyde B Schechter

    2008-05-01

    , but would cost approximately 17% less. In the probabilistic sensitivity analysis, the 5th and 95th percentiles of the cost-effectiveness ratio were US$304.05 and US$692.52 per DFE gained, respectively. Our telephone intervention is more expensive than simple mail or telephone reminders used in other settings to promote preventive care; it is, however, also considerably more effective, and is effective in a low-income minority population at greater risk for diabetes complications. The costs are dominated by labor costs, and may be substantially defrayed, without loss of effectiveness, by restricting the number of telephone calls to 5 per patient.Keywords: cost-effectiveness, diabetes mellitus, dilated fundus examination

  13. Effects of cost metric on cost-effectiveness of protected-area network design in urban landscapes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burkhalter, J C; Lockwood, J L; Maslo, B; Fenn, K H; Leu, K

    2016-04-01

    A common goal in conservation planning is to acquire areas that are critical to realizing biodiversity goals in the most cost-effective manner. The way monetary acquisition costs are represented in such planning is an understudied but vital component to realizing cost efficiencies. We sought to design a protected-area network within a forested urban region that would protect 17 birds of conservation concern. We compared the total costs and spatial structure of the optimal protected-area networks produced using three acquisition-cost surrogates (area, agricultural land value, and tax-assessed land value). Using the tax-assessed land values there was a 73% and 78% cost savings relative to networks derived using area or agricultural land value, respectively. This cost reduction was due to the considerable heterogeneity in acquisition costs revealed in tax-assessed land values, especially for small land parcels, and the corresponding ability of the optimization algorithm to identify lower-cost parcels for inclusion that had equal value to our target species. Tax-assessed land values also reflected the strong spatial differences in acquisition costs (US$0.33/m(2)-$55/m(2)) and thus allowed the algorithm to avoid inclusion of high-cost parcels when possible. Our results add to a nascent but growing literature that suggests conservation planners must consider the cost surrogate they use when designing protected-area networks. We suggest that choosing cost surrogates that capture spatial- and size-dependent heterogeneity in acquisition costs may be relevant to establishing protected areas in urbanizing ecosystems. © 2015 Society for Conservation Biology.

  14. Cost-effectiveness of osteo-odonto keratoprosthesis in Singapore.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dong, Di; Tan, Anna; Mehta, Jodhbir S; Tan, Donald; Finkelstein, Eric Andrew

    2014-01-01

    To determine the long-term cost-effectiveness of osteo-odonto keratoprosthesis (OOKP) relative to no treatment among patients with end-stage corneal and ocular surface diseases in Singapore. Cost-effectiveness analysis based on data from a retrospective cohort study. From a health system perspective, we calculated the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of OOKP treatment relative to no treatment over a 30-year horizon, based on data from a cohort of 23 patients who underwent OOKP surgery between 2004 and 2009 at Singapore National Eye Centre. Preoperative and postoperative vision-related quality-of-life values were estimated from patients' visual outcomes and were used to calculate the gain in quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) resulting from OOKP treatment. Unsubsidized costs for surgery, consultations, examinations, medications, follow-up visits, and treatments for complications were retrieved from patients' bills to estimate the total costs associated with OOKP treatment. Sensitivity analyses were conducted to test the robustness of the model. Over a 30-year period, OOKP treatment, compared with no treatment, improved QALYs by 3.991 among patients with end-stage corneal and ocular surface diseases at an additional cost of S$67 840 (US$55 150), resulting in an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of S$17 000/QALY (US$13 820/QALY). Based on commonly cited cost-effectiveness benchmarks, the OOKP is a cost-effective treatment for patients with end-stage corneal and ocular surface diseases. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  15. Cost, affordability and cost-effectiveness of strategies to control tuberculosis in countries with high HIV prevalence

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Williams Brian G

    2005-12-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The HIV epidemic has caused a dramatic increase in tuberculosis (TB in East and southern Africa. Several strategies have the potential to reduce the burden of TB in high HIV prevalence settings, and cost and cost-effectiveness analyses can help to prioritize them when budget constraints exist. However, published cost and cost-effectiveness studies are limited. Methods Our objective was to compare the cost, affordability and cost-effectiveness of seven strategies for reducing the burden of TB in countries with high HIV prevalence. A compartmental difference equation model of TB and HIV and recent cost data were used to assess the costs (year 2003 US$ prices and effects (TB cases averted, deaths averted, DALYs gained of these strategies in Kenya during the period 2004–2023. Results The three lowest cost and most cost-effective strategies were improving TB cure rates, improving TB case detection rates, and improving both together. The incremental cost of combined improvements to case detection and cure was below US$15 million per year (7.5% of year 2000 government health expenditure; the mean cost per DALY gained of these three strategies ranged from US$18 to US$34. Antiretroviral therapy (ART had the highest incremental costs, which by 2007 could be as large as total government health expenditures in year 2000. ART could also gain more DALYs than the other strategies, at a cost per DALY gained of around US$260 to US$530. Both the costs and effects of treatment for latent tuberculosis infection (TLTI for HIV+ individuals were low; the cost per DALY gained ranged from about US$85 to US$370. Averting one HIV infection for less than US$250 would be as cost-effective as improving TB case detection and cure rates to WHO target levels. Conclusion To reduce the burden of TB in high HIV prevalence settings, the immediate goal should be to increase TB case detection rates and, to the extent possible, improve TB cure rates, preferably

  16. Understanding Cost-Effectiveness of Energy Efficiency Programs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Discusses the five standard tests used to assess the cost-effectiveness of energy efficiency, how states are using these tests, and how the tests can be used to determine the cost-effectiveness of energy efficiency measures.

  17. Cost-effectiveness of cognitive behaviour therapy versus talking and usual care for depressed older people in primary care

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Leurent Baptiste E

    2011-02-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Whilst evidence suggests cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT may be effective for depressed older people in a primary care setting, few studies have examined its cost-effectiveness. The aim of this study was to compare the cost-effectiveness of cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT, a talking control (TC and treatment as usual (TAU, delivered in a primary care setting, for older people with depression. Methods Cost data generated from a single blind randomised controlled trial of 204 people aged 65 years or more were offered only Treatment as Usual, or TAU plus up to twelve sessions of CBT or a talking control is presented. The Beck Depression Inventory II (BDI-II was the main outcome measure for depression. Direct treatment costs were compared with reductions in depression scores. Cost-effectiveness analysis was conducted using non-parametric bootstrapping. The primary analysis focussed on the cost-effectiveness of CBT compared with TAU at 10 months follow up. Results Complete cost data were available for 198 patients at 4 and 10 month follow up. There were no significant differences between groups in baseline costs. The majority of health service contacts at follow up were made with general practitioners. Fewer contacts with mental health services were recorded in patients allocated to CBT, though these differences were not significant. Overall total per patient costs (including intervention costs were significantly higher in the CBT group compared with the TAU group at 10 month follow up (difference £427, 95% CI: £56 - £787, p Conclusions CBT is significantly more costly than TAU alone or TAU plus TC, but more clinically effective. Based on current estimates, CBT is likely to be recommended as a cost-effective treatment option for this patient group if the value placed on a unit reduction in BDI-II is greater than £115. Trial Registration isrctn.org Identifier: ISRCTN18271323

  18. Is computer aided detection (CAD) cost effective in screening mammography? A model based on the CADET II study

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-01-01

    Background Single reading with computer aided detection (CAD) is an alternative to double reading for detecting cancer in screening mammograms. The aim of this study is to investigate whether the use of a single reader with CAD is more cost-effective than double reading. Methods Based on data from the CADET II study, the cost-effectiveness of single reading with CAD versus double reading was measured in terms of cost per cancer detected. Cost (Pound (£), year 2007/08) of single reading with CAD versus double reading was estimated assuming a health and social service perspective and a 7 year time horizon. As the equipment cost varies according to the unit size a separate analysis was conducted for high, average and low volume screening units. One-way sensitivity analyses were performed by varying the reading time, equipment and assessment cost, recall rate and reader qualification. Results CAD is cost increasing for all sizes of screening unit. The introduction of CAD is cost-increasing compared to double reading because the cost of CAD equipment, staff training and the higher assessment cost associated with CAD are greater than the saving in reading costs. The introduction of single reading with CAD, in place of double reading, would produce an additional cost of £227 and £253 per 1,000 women screened in high and average volume units respectively. In low volume screening units, the high cost of purchasing the equipment will results in an additional cost of £590 per 1,000 women screened. One-way sensitivity analysis showed that the factors having the greatest effect on the cost-effectiveness of CAD with single reading compared with double reading were the reading time and the reader's professional qualification (radiologist versus advanced practitioner). Conclusions Without improvements in CAD effectiveness (e.g. a decrease in the recall rate) CAD is unlikely to be a cost effective alternative to double reading for mammography screening in UK. This study

  19. Cost-effectiveness of antiplatelet drugs after percutaneous coronary intervention.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wisløff, Torbjørn; Atar, Dan

    2016-01-01

    Clopidogrel has, for long time, been accepted as the standard treatment for patients who have undergone a percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). The introduction of prasugrel-and more recently, ticagrelor-has introduced a decision-making problem for clinicians and governments worldwide: to use the cheaper clopidogrel or the more effective, and also more expensive prasugrel or ticagrelor. We aim to give helpful contributions to this debate by analysing the cost-effectiveness of clopidogrel, prasugrel, and ticagrelor compared with each other. We modified a previously developed Markov model of cardiac disease progression. In the model, we followed up cohorts of patients who have recently had a PCI until 100 years or death. Possible events are revascularization, bleeding, acute myocardial infarction, and death. Our analysis shows that ticagrelor is cost-effective in 77% of simulations at an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of €7700 compared with clopidogrel. Ticagrelor was also cost-effective against prasugrel at a cost-effectiveness ratio of €7800. Given a Norwegian cost-effectiveness threshold of €70 000, both comparisons appear to be clearly cost-effective in favour of ticagrelor. Ticagrelor is cost-effective compared with both clopidogrel and prasugrel for patients who have undergone a PCI.

  20. Cost-Effectiveness Analysis of Systemic Therapies in Advanced Pancreatic Cancer in the Canadian Health Care System.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coyle, Doug; Ko, Yoo-Joung; Coyle, Kathryn; Saluja, Ronak; Shah, Keya; Lien, Kelly; Lam, Henry; Chan, Kelvin K W

    2017-04-01

    To assess the cost-effectiveness of gemcitabine (G), G + 5-fluorouracil, G + capecitabine, G + cisplatin, G + oxaliplatin, G + erlotinib, G + nab-paclitaxel (GnP), and FOLFIRINOX in the treatment of advanced pancreatic cancer from a Canadian public health payer's perspective, using data from a recently published Bayesian network meta-analysis. Analysis was conducted through a three-state Markov model and used data on the progression of disease with treatment from the gemcitabine arms of randomized controlled trials combined with estimates from the network meta-analysis for the newer regimens. Estimates of health care costs were obtained from local providers, and utilities were derived from the literature. The model estimates the effect of treatment regimens on costs and quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) discounted at 5% per annum. At a willingness-to-pay (WTP) threshold of greater than $30,666 per QALY, FOLFIRINOX would be the most optimal regimen. For a WTP threshold of $50,000 per QALY, the probability that FOLFIRINOX would be optimal was 57.8%. There was no price reduction for nab-paclitaxel when GnP was optimal. From a Canadian public health payer's perspective at the present time and drug prices, FOLFIRINOX is the optimal regimen on the basis of the cost-effectiveness criterion. GnP is not cost-effective regardless of the WTP threshold. Copyright © 2017 International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  1. Cost-effectiveness and pricing of antibacterial drugs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Verhoef, Talitha I; Morris, Stephen

    2015-01-01

    Growing resistance to antibacterial agents has increased the need for the development of new drugs to treat bacterial infections. Given increasing pressure on limited health budgets, it is important to study the cost-effectiveness of these drugs, as well as their safety and efficacy, to find out whether or not they provide value for money and should be reimbursed. In this article, we systematically reviewed 38 cost-effectiveness analyses of new antibacterial agents. Most studies showed the new antibacterial drugs were cost-effective compared to older generation drugs. Drug pricing is a complicated process, involving different stakeholders, and has a large influence on cost-effectiveness. Value-based pricing is a method to determine the price of a drug at which it can be cost-effective. It is currently unclear what the influence of value-based pricing will be on the prices of new antibacterial agents, but an important factor will be the definition of 'value', which as well as the impact of the drug on patient health might also include other factors such as wider social impact and the health impact of disease. © 2015 The Authors. Chemical Biology & Drug Design Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  2. A systematic review of the cost and cost effectiveness of treatment for multidrug-resistant tuberculosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fitzpatrick, Christopher; Floyd, Katherine

    2012-01-01

    Around 0.4 million cases of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) occur each year. Only a small fraction of these cases are treated according to international guidelines. Evidence relevant to decisions about whether to scale-up treatment for MDR-TB includes cost and cost-effectiveness data. Up to 2010, no systematic review of this evidence has been available. Our objective was to conduct a systematic review of the cost and cost effectiveness of treatment for MDR-TB and synthesize the available data. We searched for papers published or prepared for publication in peer-review journals and grey literature using search terms in five languages: English, French, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish. From an initial set of 420 studies, four were included, from Peru, the Philippines, Estonia and Tomsk Oblast in the Russian Federation. Results on costs, effectiveness and cost effectiveness were extracted. Assessment of the quality of each economic evaluation was guided by two existing checklists around which there is broad consensus. Costs were adjusted to a common year of value (2005) to remove distortions caused by inflation, and calculated in two common currencies: $US and international dollars (I$), to standardize for purchasing power parity. Data from the four identified studies were then synthesized using probabilistic sensitivity analysis, to appraise the likely cost and cost effectiveness of MDR-TB treatment in other settings, relative to WHO benchmarks for assessing whether or not an intervention is cost effective. Best estimates are provided as means, with 5th and 95th percentiles of the distributions. The cost per patient for MDR-TB treatment in Estonia, Peru, the Philippines and Tomsk was $US10 880, $US2423, $US3613 and $US14 657, respectively. Best estimates of the cost per disability-adjusted life-year (DALY) averted were $US598 (I$960), $US163 (I$291), $US143 (I$255) and $US745 (I$1059), respectively. The main influences on costs were (i) the model of care

  3. Cost-effectiveness of pharmacological and psychosocial interventions for schizophrenia

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-01-01

    Background Information on cost-effectiveness of interventions to treat schizophrenia can assist health policy decision making, particularly given the lack of health resources in developing countries like Thailand. This study aims to determine the optimal treatment package, including drug and non-drug interventions, for schizophrenia in Thailand. Methods A Markov model was used to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of typical antipsychotics, generic risperidone, olanzapine, clozapine and family interventions. Health outcomes were measured in disability adjusted life years. We evaluated intervention benefit by estimating a change in disease severity, taking into account potential side effects. Intervention costs included outpatient treatment costs, hospitalization costs as well as time and travel costs of patients and families. Uncertainty was evaluated using Monte Carlo simulation. A sensitivity analysis of the expected range cost of generic risperidone was undertaken. Results Generic risperidone is more cost-effective than typicals if it can be produced for less than 10 baht per 2 mg tablet. Risperidone was the cheapest treatment with higher drug costs offset by lower hospital costs in comparison to typicals. The most cost-effective combination of treatments was a combination of risperidone (dominant intervention). Adding family intervention has an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of 1,900 baht/DALY with a 100% probability of a result less than a threshold for very cost-effective interventions of one times GDP or 110,000 baht per DALY. Treating the most severe one third of patients with clozapine instead of risperidone had an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of 320,000 baht/DALY with just over 50% probability of a result below three times GDP per capita. Conclusions There are good economic arguments to recommend generic risperidone as first line treatment in combination with family intervention. As the uncertainty interval indicates the addition of clozapine

  4. Cost-effectiveness of pharmacological and psychosocial interventions for schizophrenia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vos Theo

    2011-05-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Information on cost-effectiveness of interventions to treat schizophrenia can assist health policy decision making, particularly given the lack of health resources in developing countries like Thailand. This study aims to determine the optimal treatment package, including drug and non-drug interventions, for schizophrenia in Thailand. Methods A Markov model was used to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of typical antipsychotics, generic risperidone, olanzapine, clozapine and family interventions. Health outcomes were measured in disability adjusted life years. We evaluated intervention benefit by estimating a change in disease severity, taking into account potential side effects. Intervention costs included outpatient treatment costs, hospitalization costs as well as time and travel costs of patients and families. Uncertainty was evaluated using Monte Carlo simulation. A sensitivity analysis of the expected range cost of generic risperidone was undertaken. Results Generic risperidone is more cost-effective than typicals if it can be produced for less than 10 baht per 2 mg tablet. Risperidone was the cheapest treatment with higher drug costs offset by lower hospital costs in comparison to typicals. The most cost-effective combination of treatments was a combination of risperidone (dominant intervention. Adding family intervention has an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of 1,900 baht/DALY with a 100% probability of a result less than a threshold for very cost-effective interventions of one times GDP or 110,000 baht per DALY. Treating the most severe one third of patients with clozapine instead of risperidone had an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of 320,000 baht/DALY with just over 50% probability of a result below three times GDP per capita. Conclusions There are good economic arguments to recommend generic risperidone as first line treatment in combination with family intervention. As the uncertainty interval indicates

  5. Cost-effectiveness of pharmacological and psychosocial interventions for schizophrenia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Phanthunane, Pudtan; Vos, Theo; Whiteford, Harvey; Bertram, Melanie

    2011-05-13

    Information on cost-effectiveness of interventions to treat schizophrenia can assist health policy decision making, particularly given the lack of health resources in developing countries like Thailand. This study aims to determine the optimal treatment package, including drug and non-drug interventions, for schizophrenia in Thailand. A Markov model was used to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of typical antipsychotics, generic risperidone, olanzapine, clozapine and family interventions. Health outcomes were measured in disability adjusted life years. We evaluated intervention benefit by estimating a change in disease severity, taking into account potential side effects. Intervention costs included outpatient treatment costs, hospitalization costs as well as time and travel costs of patients and families. Uncertainty was evaluated using Monte Carlo simulation. A sensitivity analysis of the expected range cost of generic risperidone was undertaken. Generic risperidone is more cost-effective than typicals if it can be produced for less than 10 baht per 2 mg tablet. Risperidone was the cheapest treatment with higher drug costs offset by lower hospital costs in comparison to typicals. The most cost-effective combination of treatments was a combination of risperidone (dominant intervention). Adding family intervention has an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of 1,900 baht/DALY with a 100% probability of a result less than a threshold for very cost-effective interventions of one times GDP or 110,000 baht per DALY. Treating the most severe one third of patients with clozapine instead of risperidone had an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of 320,000 baht/DALY with just over 50% probability of a result below three times GDP per capita. There are good economic arguments to recommend generic risperidone as first line treatment in combination with family intervention. As the uncertainty interval indicates the addition of clozapine may be dominated and there are serious

  6. Controlling Campylobacter in the chicken meat chain - Cost-effectiveness and cost-utility analysis

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Mangen MJJ; Havelaar AH; Nauta MJ; Koeijer AA de; Wit GA de; LEI; Animal Sciences Group; PZO; MGB

    2005-01-01

    The aim of this study was the estimation of cost-effectiveness and cost-utility of various interventions to control Campylobacter contamination of broiler meat. The relative risk, the intervention costs, the disease burden (expressed in Disability Adjusted Live Years (DALYs)) and the

  7. A cost-effectiveness and cost-utility analysis of radiosurgery vs. resection for single-brain metastases

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mehta, Minesh; Noyes, William; Craig, Bruce; Lamond, John; Auchter, Richard; French, Molly; Johnson, Mark; Levin, Allan; Badie, Behnam; Robbins, Ian; Kinsella, Timothy

    1997-01-01

    Purpose: The median survival of well-selected patients with single-brain metastases treated with whole-brain irradiation and resection or radiosurgery is comparable, although a randomized trial of these two modalities has not been performed. In this era of cost containment, it is imperative that health-care professionals make fiscally prudent decisions. The present environment necessitates a critical appraisal of apparently equi-efficacious therapeutic modalities, and it is within this context that we present a comparison of the actual costs of resection and radiosurgery for brain metastases. Methods and Materials: Survival and quality of life outcome data for radiation alone or with surgery were obtained from two randomized trials, and radiosurgical results were obtained from a multiinstitutional analysis that specifically evaluated patients meeting surgical criteria. Only linear accelerator radiosurgery data were considered. Cost analysis was performed from a societal view point, and the following parameters were evaluated: actual cost, cost ratios, cost effectiveness, incremental cost effectiveness, cost utility, incremental cost utility, and national cost burden. The computerized billing records for all patients undergoing resection or radiosurgery for single-brain metastases from January 1989 to July 1994 were reviewed. A total of 46 resections and 135 radiosurgery procedures were performed. During the same time period, 454 patients underwent whole-brain radiation alone. An analysis of the entire bill was performed for each procedure, and each itemized cost was assigned a proportionate figure. The relative cost ratios of resection and radiosurgery were compared using the Wilcoxon rank sum test. Cost effectiveness of each modality, defined as the cost per year of median survival, was evaluated. Incremental cost effectiveness, defined as the additional cost per year of incremental gain in median survival, compared to the next least expensive modality, was also

  8. Exercise, Manual Therapy, and Booster Sessions in Knee Osteoarthritis: Cost-Effectiveness Analysis From a Multicenter Randomized Controlled Trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bove, Allyn M; Smith, Kenneth J; Bise, Christopher G; Fritz, Julie M; Childs, John; Brennan, Gerard P; Abbott, J Haxby; Fitzgerald, G Kelley

    2018-01-01

    Limited information exists regarding the cost-effectiveness of rehabilitation strategies for individuals with knee osteoarthritis (OA). The study objective was to compare the cost-effectiveness of 4 different combinations of exercise, manual therapy, and booster sessions for individuals with knee OA. This economic evaluation involved a cost-effectiveness analysis performed alongside a multicenter randomized controlled trial. The study took place in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Salt Lake City, Utah; and San Antonio, Texas. The study participants were 300 individuals taking part in a randomized controlled trial investigating various physical therapy strategies for knee OA. Participants were randomized into 4 treatment groups: exercise only (EX), exercise plus booster sessions (EX+B), exercise plus manual therapy (EX+MT), and exercise plus manual therapy and booster sessions (EX+MT+B). For the 2-year base case scenario, a Markov model was constructed using the United States societal perspective and a 3% discount rate for costs and quality-adjusted life years (QALYs). Incremental cost-effectiveness ratios were calculated to compare differences in cost per QALY gained among the 4 treatment strategies. In the 2-year analysis, booster strategies (EX+MT+B and EX+B) dominated no-booster strategies, with both lower health care costs and greater effectiveness. EX+MT+B had the lowest total health care costs. EX+B cost ${\\$}$1061 more and gained 0.082 more QALYs than EX+MT+B, for an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of ${\\$}$12,900/QALY gained. The small number of total knee arthroplasty surgeries received by individuals in this study made the assessment of whether any particular strategy was more successful at delaying or preventing surgery in individuals with knee OA difficult. Spacing exercise-based physical therapy sessions over 12 months using periodic booster sessions was less costly and more effective over 2 years than strategies not containing booster sessions for

  9. Cost-effectiveness of Chlamydia antibody tests in subfertile women.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fiddelers, A A A; Land, J A; Voss, G; Kessels, A G H; Severens, J L

    2005-02-01

    For the evaluation of tubal function, Chlamydia antibody testing (CAT) has been introduced as a screening test. We compared six CAT screening strategies (five CAT tests and one combination of tests), with respect to their cost-effectiveness, by using IVF pregnancy rate as outcome measure. A decision analytic model was developed based on a source population of 1715 subfertile women. The model incorporates hysterosalpingography (HSG), laparoscopy and IVF. To calculate IVF pregnancy rates, costs, effects, cost-effectiveness and incremental costs per effect of the six different CAT screening strategies were determined. pELISA Medac turned out to be the most cost-effective CAT screening strategy (15 075 per IVF pregnancy), followed by MIF Anilabsystems (15 108). A combination of tests (pELISA Medac and MIF Anilabsystems; 15 127) did not improve the cost-effectiveness of the single strategies. Sensitivity analyses showed that the results are robust for changes in the baseline values of the model parameters. Only small differences were found between the screening strategies regarding the cost-effectiveness, although pELISA Medac was the most cost-effective strategy. Before introducing a particular CAT test into clinical practice, one should consider the effects and consequences of the entire screening strategy, instead of only the diagnostic accuracy of the test used.

  10. Cost-effectiveness of computer-assisted training in cognitive-behavioral therapy as an adjunct to standard care for addiction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Olmstead, Todd A; Ostrow, Cary D; Carroll, Kathleen M

    2010-08-01

    To determine the cost-effectiveness, from clinic and patient perspectives, of a computer-based version of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT4CBT) as an addition to regular clinical practice for substance dependence. PARTICIPANTS, DESIGN AND MEASUREMENTS: This cost-effectiveness study is based on a randomized clinical trial in which 77 individuals seeking treatment for substance dependence at an outpatient community setting were randomly assigned to treatment as usual (TAU) or TAU plus biweekly access to computer-based training in CBT (TAU plus CBT4CBT). The primary patient outcome measure was the total number of drug-free specimens provided during treatment. Incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs) and cost-effectiveness acceptability curves (CEACs) were used to determine the cost-effectiveness of TAU plus CBT4CBT relative to TAU alone. Results are presented from both the clinic and patient perspectives and are shown to be robust to (i) sensitivity analyses and (ii) a secondary objective patient outcome measure. The per patient cost of adding CBT4CBT to standard care was $39 ($27) from the clinic (patient) perspective. From the clinic (patient) perspective, TAU plus CBT4CBT is likely to be cost-effective when the threshold value to decision makers of an additional drug-free specimen is greater than approximately $21 ($15), and TAU alone is likely to be cost-effective when the threshold value is less than approximately $21 ($15). The ICERs for TAU plus CBT4CBT also compare favorably to ICERs reported elsewhere for other empirically validated therapies, including contingency management. TAU plus CBT4CBT appears to be a good value from both the clinic and patient perspectives. Copyright (c) 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. Cost effectiveness and efficiency in assistive technology service delivery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Warren, C G

    1993-01-01

    In order to develop and maintain a viable service delivery program, the realities of cost effectiveness and cost efficiency in providing assistive technology must be addressed. Cost effectiveness relates to value of the outcome compared to the expenditures. Cost efficiency analyzes how a provider uses available resources to supply goods and services. This paper describes how basic business principles of benefit/cost analysis can be used to determine cost effectiveness. In addition, basic accounting principles are used to illustrate methods of evaluating a program's cost efficiency. Service providers are encouraged to measure their own program's effectiveness and efficiency (and potential viability) in light of current trends. This paper is meant to serve as a catalyst for continued dialogue on this topic.

  12. Cost effectiveness analysis of indoor radon control measures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fujimoto, Kenzo

    1989-01-01

    The problem of radon 222 in buildings as a contributor to radiation exposure is described. Five different control methods and the dose reductions that would result from each are analysed. The annualized cost for each control measure was evaluated and the cost effectiveness of each control measure was calculated on the basis of dollars per person-sievert dose reduction. The use of unipolar ion generators for particle removal appears to be the most cost effective and the use of ceiling fans to increase air circulation the least cost effective. 3 figs., 1 tab

  13. A cost-effectiveness analysis of shipboard telemedicine.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stoloff, P H; Garcia, F E; Thomason, J E; Shia, D S

    1998-01-01

    The U.S. Navy is considering the installation of telemedicine equipment on more than 300 ships. Besides improving the quality of care, benefits would arise from avoiding medical evacuations (MEDEVACs) and returning patients to work more quickly. Because telemedicine has not yet been fully implemented by the Navy, we relied on projections of anticipated savings and costs, rather than actual expenditures, to determine cost-effectiveness. To determine the demand for telemedicine and the cost-effectiveness of various technologies (telephone and fax, e-mail and Internet, video teleconferencing (VTC), teleradiology, and diagnostic instruments), as well as their bandwidth requirements. A panel of Navy medical experts with telemedicine experience reviewed a representative sample of patient visits collected over a 1-year period and estimated the man-day savings and quality-of-care enhancements that might have occurred had telemedicine technologies been available. The savings from potentially avoiding MEDEVACs was estimated from a survey of ships' medical staff. These sample estimates were then projected to the medical workload of the entire fleet. Off-the-shelf telemedicine equipment prices were combined with installation, maintenance, training, and communication costs to obtain the lifecycle costs of the technology. If telemedicine were available to the fleet, ship medical staffs would initiate nearly 19, 000 consults in a year-7% of all patient visits. Telemedicine would enhance quality of care in two-thirds of these consults. Seventeen percent of the MEDEVACs would be preventable with telemedicine (representing 155,000 travel miles), with a savings of $4400 per MEDEVAC. If the ship's communication capabilities were available, e-mail and Internet and telephone and fax would be cost-effective on all ships (including small ships and submarines). Video teleconferencing would be cost-effective on large ships (aircraft carriers and amphibious) only. Teleradiology would be cost-effective

  14. Greater oil investment opportunities

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Arenas, Ismael Enrique

    1997-01-01

    Geologically speaking, Colombia is a very attractive country for the world oil community. According to this philosophy new and important steps are being taken to reinforce the oil sector: Expansion of the exploratory frontier by including a larger number of sedimentary areas, and the adoption of innovative contracting instruments. Colombia has to offer, Greater economic incentives for the exploration of new areas to expand the exploratory frontier, stimulation of exploration in areas with prospectivity for small fields. Companies may offer Ecopetrol a participation in production over and above royalties, without it's participating in the investments and costs of these fields, more favorable conditions for natural gas seeking projects, in comparison with those governing the terms for oil

  15. Cost-effectiveness of emergency contraception options over 1 year.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bellows, Brandon K; Tak, Casey R; Sanders, Jessica N; Turok, David K; Schwarz, Eleanor B

    2018-05-01

    The copper intrauterine device is the most effective form of emergency contraception and can also provide long-term contraception. The levonorgestrel intrauterine device has also been studied in combination with oral levonorgestrel for women seeking emergency contraception. However, intrauterine devices have higher up-front costs than oral methods, such as ulipristal acetate and levonorgestrel. Health care payers and decision makers (eg, health care insurers, government programs) with financial constraints must determine if the increased effectiveness of intrauterine device emergency contraception methods are worth the additional costs. We sought to compare the cost-effectiveness of 4 emergency contraception strategies-ulipristal acetate, oral levonorgestrel, copper intrauterine device, and oral levonorgestrel plus same-day levonorgestrel intrauterine device-over 1 year from a US payer perspective. Costs (2017 US dollars) and pregnancies were estimated over 1 year using a Markov model of 1000 women seeking emergency contraception. Every 28-day cycle, the model estimated the predicted number of pregnancy outcomes (ie, live birth, ectopic pregnancy, spontaneous abortion, or induced abortion) resulting from emergency contraception failure and subsequent contraception use. Model inputs were derived from published literature and national sources. An emergency contraception strategy was considered cost-effective if the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ie, the cost to prevent 1 additional pregnancy) was less than the weighted average cost of pregnancy outcomes in the United States ($5167). The incremental cost-effectiveness ratios and probability of being the most cost-effective emergency contraception strategy were calculated from 1000 probabilistic model iterations. One-way sensitivity analyses were used to examine uncertainty in the cost of emergency contraception, subsequent contraception, and pregnancy outcomes as well as the model probabilities. In 1000 women

  16. Consumer-Operated Service Programs: monetary and donated costs and cost-effectiveness.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yates, Brian T; Mannix, Danyelle; Freed, Michael C; Campbell, Jean; Johnsen, Matthew; Jones, Kristine; Blyler, Crystal R

    2011-01-01

    Examine cost differences between Consumer Operated Service Programs (COSPs) as possibly determined by a) size of program, b) use of volunteers and other donated resources, c) cost-of-living differences between program locales, d) COSP model applied, and e) delivery system used to implement the COSP model. As part of a larger evaluation of COSP, data on operating costs, enrollments, and mobilization of donated resources were collected for eight programs representing three COSP models (drop-in centers, mutual support, and education/advocacy training). Because the 8 programs were operated in geographically diverse areas of the US, costs were examined with and without adjustment for differences in local cost of living. Because some COSPs use volunteers and other donated resources, costs were measured with and without these resources being monetized. Scale of operation also was considered as a mediating variable for differences in program costs. Cost per visit, cost per consumer per quarter, and total program cost were calculated separately for funds spent and for resources donated for each COSP. Differences between COSPs in cost per consumer and cost per visit seem better explained by economies of scale and delivery system used than by cost-of-living differences between program locations or COSP model. Given others' findings that different COSP models produce little variation in service effectiveness, minimize service costs by maximizing scale of operation while using a delivery system that allows staff and facilities resources to be increased or decreased quickly to match number of consumers seeking services.

  17. Ethical objections against including life-extension costs in cost-effectiveness analysis: a consistent approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gandjour, Afschin; Müller, Dirk

    2014-10-01

    One of the major ethical concerns regarding cost-effectiveness analysis in health care has been the inclusion of life-extension costs ("it is cheaper to let people die"). For this reason, many analysts have opted to rule out life-extension costs from the analysis. However, surprisingly little has been written in the health economics literature regarding this ethical concern and the resulting practice. The purpose of this work was to present a framework and potential solution for ethical objections against life-extension costs. This work found three levels of ethical concern: (i) with respect to all life-extension costs (disease-related and -unrelated); (ii) with respect to disease-unrelated costs only; and (iii) regarding disease-unrelated costs plus disease-related costs not influenced by the intervention. Excluding all life-extension costs for ethical reasons would require-for reasons of consistency-a simultaneous exclusion of savings from reducing morbidity. At the other extreme, excluding only disease-unrelated life-extension costs for ethical reasons would require-again for reasons of consistency-the exclusion of health gains due to treatment of unrelated diseases. Therefore, addressing ethical concerns regarding the inclusion of life-extension costs necessitates fundamental changes in the calculation of cost effectiveness.

  18. Is cost-effective healthcare compatible with publicly financed academic medical centres?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chia, Whay Kuang; Toh, Han Chong

    2013-01-01

    Probably more than any country, Singapore has made significant investment into the biomedical enterprise as a proportion of its economy and size. This focus recently witnessed a shift towards a greater emphasis on translational and clinical development. Key to the realisation of this strategy will be Academic Medical Centres (AMCs), as a principal tool to developing and applying useful products for the market and further improving health outcomes. Here, we explore the principal value proposition of the AMC to Singapore society and its healthcare system. We question if the values inherent within academic medicine--that of inquiry, innovation, pedagogy and clinical exceptionalism--can be compatible with the seemingly paradoxical mandate of providing cost-effective or rationed healthcare.

  19. Cancer Care Coordinators to Improve Tamoxifen Persistence in Breast Cancer: How Heterogeneity in Baseline Prognosis Impacts on Cost-Effectiveness.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nair, Nisha; Kvizhinadze, Giorgi; Blakely, Tony

    2016-12-01

    To assess the cost-effectiveness of a cancer care coordinator (CCC) in helping women with estrogen receptor positive (ER+) early breast cancer persist with tamoxifen for 5 years. We investigated the cost-effectiveness of a CCC across eight breast cancer subtypes, defined by progesterone receptor (PR) status, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) status, and local/regional spread. These subtypes range from excellent to poorer prognoses. The CCC helped in improving tamoxifen persistence by providing information, checking-in by phone, and "troubleshooting" concerns. We constructed a Markov macrosimulation model to estimate health gain (in quality-adjusted life-years or QALYs) and health system costs in New Zealand, compared with no CCC. Participants were modeled until death or till the age of 110 years. Some input parameters (e.g., the impact of a CCC on tamoxifen persistence) had sparse evidence. Therefore, we used estimates with generous uncertainty and conducted sensitivity analyses. The cost-effectiveness of a CCC for regional ER+/PR-/HER2+ breast cancer (worst prognosis) was NZ $23,400 (US $15,800) per QALY gained, compared with NZ $368,500 (US $248,800) for local ER+/PR+/HER2- breast cancer (best prognosis). Using a cost-effectiveness threshold of NZ $45,000 (US $30,400) per QALY, a CCC would be cost-effective only in the four subtypes with the worst prognoses. There is value in investigating cost-effectiveness by different subtypes within a disease. In this example of breast cancer, the poorer the prognosis, the greater the health gains from a CCC and the better the cost-effectiveness. Incorporating heterogeneity in a cost-utility analysis is important and can inform resource allocation decisions. It is also feasible to undertake in practice. Copyright © 2016 International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  20. Cost-Effectiveness of Four Parenting Programs and Bibliotherapy for Parents of Children with Conduct Problems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sampaio, Filipa; Enebrink, Pia; Mihalopoulos, Cathrine; Feldman, Inna

    2016-12-01

    "recovered and improved" and of intervention completers held Cope as the cheapest alternative. Exclusion of parents' time and training costs did not change the cost-effectiveness results. The time horizon for this evaluation is very short. This study also had a limited costing perspective. Results may be interpreted with caution when considering decision-making about value for money. The inclusion of a multi-attribute utility instrument sensitive to domains of quality-of-life impacted by CP in children would be valuable so that pragmatic value for money estimations can be made. Further studies are needed with longer follow-up periods to ascertain on the sustainability of the effects, and fuller economic evaluations and economic modeling to provide insights on longer-term cost-effectiveness. These results also raise the need to investigate the cost-effectiveness of the provision of these interventions as a "stepped care" approach. The results suggest the delivery of different programs according to budget constraints and the outcome desired. In the absence of a WTP threshold, bibliotherapy could be a cheap and effective option to initially target CP within a limited budget, whereas Comet could be offered to achieve greater effects based on decision-makers' willingness to make larger investments. In its turn, Cope could be offered when targeting broader outcomes, such as symptom improvement, rather than clinical caseness.

  1. Cost of childhood diarrhoea in rural South Africa: exploring cost-effectiveness of universal zinc supplementation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chhagan, Meera K; Van den Broeck, Jan; Luabeya, Kany-Kany Angelique; Mpontshane, Nontobeko; Bennish, Michael L

    2014-09-01

    To describe the cost of diarrhoeal illness in children aged 6-24 months in a rural South African community and to determine the threshold prevalence of stunting at which universal Zn plus vitamin A supplementation (VAZ) would be more cost-effective than vitamin A alone (VA) in preventing diarrhoea. We conducted a cost analysis using primary and secondary data sources. Using simulations we examined incremental costs of VAZ relative to VA while varying stunting prevalence. Data on efficacy and societal costs were largely from a South African trial. Secondary data were from local and international published sources. The trial included children aged 6-24 months. The secondary data sources were a South African health economics survey and the WHO-CHOICE (CHOosing Interventions that are Cost Effective) database. In the trial, stunted children supplemented with VAZ had 2·04 episodes (95 % CI 1·37, 3·05) of diarrhoea per child-year compared with 3·92 episodes (95 % CI 3·02, 5·09) in the VA arm. Average cost of illness was $Int 7·80 per episode (10th, 90th centile: $Int 0·28, $Int 15·63), assuming a minimum standard of care (oral rehydration and 14 d of therapeutic Zn). In simulation scenarios universal VAZ had low incremental costs or became cost-saving relative to VA when the prevalence of stunting was close to 20 %. Incremental cost-effectiveness ratios were sensitive to the cost of intervention and coverage levels. This simulation suggests that universal VAZ would be cost-effective at current levels of stunting in parts of South Africa. This requires further validation under actual programmatic conditions.

  2. Cost-effectiveness of rotavirus vaccination in Turkey

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tulin Koksal

    2017-10-01

    Conclusion: At a cost per vaccine course of US$31.5 for monovalent and US$38 for pentavalent vaccine, routine RV vaccination could be potentially cost effective and also cost saving in Turkey. National RV vaccinations will play a significant role in preventing RV infections.

  3. Reducing healthcare costs facilitated by surgical auditing: a systematic review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Govaert, Johannes Arthuur; van Bommel, Anne Charlotte Madeline; van Dijk, Wouter Antonie; van Leersum, Nicoline Johanneke; Tollenaar, Robertus Alexandre Eduard Mattheus; Wouters, Michael Wilhemus Jacobus Maria

    2015-07-01

    Surgical auditing has been developed in order to benchmark and to facilitate quality improvement. The aim of this review is to determine if auditing combined with systematic feedback of information on process and outcomes of care results in lower costs of surgical care. A systematic search of published literature before 21-08-2013 was conducted in Pubmed, Embase, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library. Articles were selected if they met the inclusion criteria of describing a surgical audit with cost-evaluation. The systematic search resulted in 3608 papers. Six studies were identified as relevant, all showing a positive effect of surgical auditing on quality of healthcare and therefore cost savings was reported. Cost reductions ranging from $16 to $356 per patient were seen in audits evaluating general or vascular procedures. The highest potential cost reduction was described in a colorectal surgical audit (up to $1,986 per patient). All six identified articles in this review describe a reduction in complications and thereby a reduction in costs due to surgical auditing. Surgical auditing may be of greater value when high-risk procedures are evaluated, since prevention of adverse events in these procedures might be of greater clinical and therefore of greater financial impact. This systematic review shows that surgical auditing can function as a quality instrument and therefore as a tool to reduce costs. Since evidence is scarce so far, further studies should be performed to investigate if surgical auditing has positive effects to turn the rising healthcare costs around. In the future, incorporating (actual) cost analyses and patient-related outcome measures would increase the audits' value and provide a complete overview of the value of healthcare.

  4. Cost effectiveness of Tuberculosis Treatment from the Patients ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    ... Directly Observed Treatment Short course is more cost effective from the patients' point of view. DOTS needs to be re-focused out of the hospitals and clinics and made community based in view of the increasing TB caseload occasioned by HI V/AIDS. Key Words: Cost effectiveness, Tuberculosis treatment, personal cost, ...

  5. Cost-effectiveness in fall prevention for older women.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hektoen, Liv F; Aas, Eline; Lurås, Hilde

    2009-08-01

    The aim of this study was to estimate the cost-effectiveness of implementing an exercise-based fall prevention programme for home-dwelling women in the > or = 80-year age group in Norway. The impact of the home-based individual exercise programme on the number of falls is based on a New Zealand study. On the basis of the cost estimates and the estimated reduction in the number of falls obtained with the chosen programme, we calculated the incremental costs and the incremental effect of the exercise programme as compared with no prevention. The calculation of the average healthcare cost of falling was based on assumptions regarding the distribution of fall injuries reported in the literature, four constructed representative case histories, assumptions regarding healthcare provision associated with the treatment of the specified cases, and estimated unit costs from Norwegian cost data. We calculated the average healthcare costs per fall for the first year. We found that the reduction in healthcare costs per individual for treating fall-related injuries was 1.85 times higher than the cost of implementing a fall prevention programme. The reduction in healthcare costs more than offset the cost of the prevention programme for women aged > or = 80 years living at home, which indicates that health authorities should increase their focus on prevention. The main intention of this article is to stipulate costs connected to falls among the elderly in a transparent way and visualize the whole cost picture. Cost-effectiveness analysis is a health policy tool that makes politicians and other makers of health policy conscious of this complexity.

  6. The Cost-Effectiveness of NBPTS Teacher Certification

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yeh, Stuart S.

    2010-01-01

    A cost-effectiveness analysis of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) program suggests that Board certification is less cost-effective than a range of alternative approaches for raising student achievement, including comprehensive school reform, class size reduction, a 10% increase in per pupil expenditure, the use of…

  7. Economics of mycotoxins: evaluating costs to society and cost-effectiveness of interventions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-01-01

    The economic impacts of mycotoxins to human society can be thought of in two ways: (i) the direct market costs associated with lost trade or reduced revenues due to contaminated food or feed, and (ii) the human health losses from adverse effects associated with mycotoxin consumption. Losses related to markets occur within systems in which mycotoxins are being monitored in the food and feed supply. Food that has mycotoxin levels above a particular maximum allowable level is either rejected outright for sale or sold at a lower price for a different use. Such transactions can take place at local levels or at the level of trade among countries. Sometimes this can result in heavy economic losses for food producers, but the benefit of such monitoring systems is a lower risk of mycotoxins in the food supply. Losses related to health occur when mycotoxins are present in food at levels that can cause illness. In developed countries, such losses are often measured in terms of cost of illness; around the world, such losses are more frequently measured in terms of disability-adjusted life years (DALYs). It is also useful to assess the economics of interventions to reduce mycotoxins and their attendant health effects; the relative effectiveness of public health interventions can be assessed by estimating quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) associated with each intervention. Cost-effectiveness assessment can be conducted to compare the cost of implementing the intervention with the resulting benefits, in terms of either improved markets or improved human health. Aside from cost-effectiveness, however, it is also important to assess the technical feasibility of interventions, particularly in low-income countries, where funds and infrastructures are limited.

  8. The economic costs of energy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brookes, L.G.

    1980-01-01

    At a recent symposium, the economic costs of nuclear power were examined in four lectures which considered; (1) The performance of different types, size and ages of nuclear power plants. (2) The comparison between coal and nuclear power costs based on the principle of net effective cash. (3) The capital requirements of a nuclear programme. (4) The comparative costs, now and in the future, of coal-fired and nuclear plants. It is concluded that uncertainties seem to get greater rather than smaller with time probably due to the high and fluctuating world inflation rates and the great uncertainty about world economic performance introduced by the politicising of world oil supplies. (UK)

  9. Cost-Effectiveness of School-Based Prevention of Cannabis Use.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deogan, Charlotte; Zarabi, Natalie; Stenström, Nils; Högberg, Pi; Skärstrand, Eva; Manrique-Garcia, Edison; Neovius, Kristian; Månsdotter, Anna

    2015-10-01

    Cannabis is the most frequently used illicit drug globally. Despite increasing evidence that cannabis use is associated with adverse health effects, the knowledge on preventative strategies is still limited. This study stemmed from a systematic review of effective prevention in which school-based programmes were identified as promising. The primary objective was to evaluate the cost effectiveness of Project ALERT (Adolescent, Learning, Experiences, Resistance, and Training), compared with ordinary ATOD (Alcohol, Tobacco, and Other Drug) education, among Swedish students in the eighth grade of compulsory school. The cost-effectiveness analysis was performed from the societal perspective with quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) as an outcome (willingness-to-pay threshold €50,000) and follow-up periods from 1 year to a lifetime, considering a discounting rate of 3%, and with costs inflated to 2013 levels. A Markov model was constructed on the basis of the 'states' of single use, regular use, daily use and use of other illicit drugs, which were associated with 'complications' of psychosis, schizophrenia, traffic accidents, depression and amotivational syndrome. Health and cost consequences were linked to both states and complications. The programme was cost saving on the basis of evidence from the USA (ratio 1:1.1), and was cost effective (incremental cost-effectiveness ratio €22,384 per QALY) after reasonable adjustment for the Swedish context and with 20 years of follow-up. When the target group was restricted to boys who were neither studying nor working/doing work experience, the programme was cost effective after 9 years and cost saving (ratio 1:3.2) after 20 years. School-based prevention such as Project ALERT has the potential to be cost effective and to be cost saving if implemented in deprived areas. In the light of the shifting landscape regarding legalization of cannabis, it seems rational to continue the health economic analysis of prevention initiated

  10. Cost of space-based laser ballistic missile defense.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Field, G; Spergel, D

    1986-03-21

    Orbiting platforms carrying infrared lasers have been proposed as weapons forming the first tier of a ballistic missile defense system under the President's Strategic Defense Initiative. As each laser platform can destroy a limited number of missiles, one of several methods of countering such a system is to increase the number of offensive missiles. Hence it is important to know whether the cost-exchange ratio, defined as the ratio of the cost to the defense of destroying a missile to the cost to the offense of deploying an additional missile, is greater or less than 1. Although the technology to be used in a ballistic missile defense system is still extremely uncertain, it is useful to examine methods for calculating the cost-exchange ratio. As an example, the cost of an orbiting infrared laser ballistic missile defense system employed against intercontinental ballistic missiles launched simultaneously from a small area is compared to the cost of additional offensive missiles. If one adopts lower limits to the costs for the defense and upper limits to the costs for the offense, the cost-exchange ratio comes out substantially greater than 1. If these estimates are confirmed, such a ballistic missile defense system would be unable to maintain its effectiveness at less cost than it would take to proliferate the ballistic missiles necessary to overcome it and would therefore not satisfy the President's requirements for an effective strategic defense. Although the method is illustrated by applying it to a space-based infrared laser system, it should be straightforward to apply it to other proposed systems.

  11. Impacts of optimum cost effective energy efficiency standards

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brancic, A.B.; Peters, J.S.; Arch, M.

    1991-01-01

    Building Codes are increasingly required to be responsive to social and economic policy concerns. In 1990 the State of Connecticut passes An Act Concerning Global Warming, Public Act 90-219, which mandates the revision of the state building code to require that buildings and building elements be designed to provide optimum cost-effective energy efficiency over the useful life of the building. Further, such revision must meet the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) Standard 90.1 - 1989. As the largest electric energy supplier in Connecticut, Northeast Utilities (NU) sponsored a pilot study of the cost effectiveness of alternative building code standards for commercial construction. This paper reports on this study which analyzed design and construction means, building elements, incremental construction costs, and energy savings to determine the optimum cost-effective building code standard. Findings are that ASHRAE 90.1 results in 21% energy savings and alternative standards above it result in significant additional savings. Benefit/cost analysis showed that both are cost effective

  12. Cost-Effectiveness Analysis of Atorvastatin versus Rosuvastatin in Primary and Secondary Cardiovascular Prevention Populations in Brazil and Columbia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mould-Quevedo, Joaquín F; Gutiérrez-Ardila, Magda Vianey; Ordóñez Molina, Jaime Eduardo; Pinsky, Brett; Vargas Zea, Nicolás

    2014-12-01

    Latin America has witnessed a marked increase in cardiovascular (CV) disease, the leading cause of death in many countries. The benefits of lipid-lowering therapy to reduce CV-related events are widely accepted. Clinical evidence suggests that rosuvastatin is associated with slightly greater reductions in low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels than is atorvastatin at comparable doses. Rosuvastatin, however, is often priced at a premium. Our objective was to examine the cost-effectiveness of using atorvastatin versus rosuvastatin in reducing CV events in Brazil and Colombia using real-world prices. A global Markov cohort model of primary and secondary CV prevention was developed and adapted to Brazilian and Colombian settings. The risks and costs of major CV events and efficacy, adherence, and costs of statins were considered. Total gains in life-years, quality-adjusted life-years, major CV events avoided, and costs over the lifetime horizon were estimated. Several dose comparisons were considered. In the Colombian analyses, differences in drug costs between therapies were considerable while outcomes were similar. The incremental cost per quality-adjusted life-year gained for rosuvastatin versus atorvastatin was more than $700,000 and $200,000 in primary and secondary prevention, respectively. Brazilian analyses found lower incremental cost-effectiveness ratios for rosuvastatin at some dose comparisons due to similar pricing between statins. Sensitivity analyses revealed that changes in treatment efficacy and adherence had the largest impact on results. In primary and secondary CV prevention, the efficacy advantage of rosuvastatin was minimal, while its acquisition cost was higher, particularly in Colombia. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratios were, therefore, generally in favor of atorvastatin being the cost-effective option. Copyright © 2014 International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights

  13. Cost-Effectiveness of a Nonpharmacological Intervention in Pediatric Burn Care.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brown, Nadia J; David, Michael; Cuttle, Leila; Kimble, Roy M; Rodger, Sylvia; Higashi, Hideki

    2015-07-01

    To report the cost-effectiveness of a tailored handheld computerized procedural preparation and distraction intervention (Ditto) used during pediatric burn wound care in comparison to standard practice. An economic evaluation was performed alongside a randomized controlled trial of 75 children aged 4 to 13 years who presented with a burn to the Royal Children's Hospital, Brisbane, Australia. Participants were randomized to either the Ditto intervention (n = 35) or standard practice (n = 40) to measure the effect of the intervention on days taken for burns to re-epithelialize. Direct medical, direct nonmedical, and indirect cost data during burn re-epithelialization were extracted from the randomized controlled trial data and combined with scar management cost data obtained retrospectively from medical charts. Nonparametric bootstrapping was used to estimate statistical uncertainty in cost and effect differences and cost-effectiveness ratios. On average, the Ditto intervention reduced the time to re-epithelialize by 3 days at AU$194 less cost for each patient compared with standard practice. The incremental cost-effectiveness plane showed that 78% of the simulated results were within the more effective and less costly quadrant and 22% were in the more effective and more costly quadrant, suggesting a 78% probability that the Ditto intervention dominates standard practice (i.e., cost-saving). At a willingness-to-pay threshold of AU$120, there is a 95% probability that the Ditto intervention is cost-effective (or cost-saving) against standard care. This economic evaluation showed the Ditto intervention to be highly cost-effective against standard practice at a minimal cost for the significant benefits gained, supporting the implementation of the Ditto intervention during burn wound care. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  14. The cost-effectiveness analysis of JinQi Jiangtang tablets for the treatment on prediabetes: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter design.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Xiao; Guo, Liping; Shang, Hongcai; Ren, Ming; Wang, Yue; Huo, Da; Lei, Xiang; Wang, Hui; Zhai, Jingbo

    2015-11-03

    reduced the incidence of diabetes mellitus and enhanced reversion rate. compared with the control group (p 0.05); finally the compliance of participants between the two groups had no significant difference. The cost-effectiveness analysis outcomes:in the intervention period of 12 months,on the aspect of reversion rate, the treatment group had better economic advantage by using cost-effectiveness ratio and the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio;on the aspect of the incidence of diabetes, the control group had better economic advantage by using cost-effectiveness ratio and the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio; in the follow-up period of 24 months, on the aspect of reversion rate, the treatment group had better economic advantage by using cost-effectiveness ratio and the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio, on the aspect of the incidence of diabetes, the control group had better economic advantage by using cost-effectivenes ratio and the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio.At the same time, these outcomes remained the same by sensitivity analysis. Assuming that prices and resident incomes rose 5%, the sensitiveness analysis shows that the two group affected by the paremeters changed little. The importance and effectiveness of lifestyle education and JinQi Jiangtang tablets was proven. In both the intervention period and follow-up, JinQi Jiangtang tablets combined with lifestyle education had a greater cost advantage effect than the lifestyle education alone on the reversion rate; the lifestyle education had a greater cost advantage effect than the JinQi Jiangtang tablets combined with lifestyle education on the incidence of diabetes. Chinese Clinical Trials ChiCTR-TRC-09000401 ) , registered on 25 May 2009.

  15. Cost effectiveness of detritiating water with resin columns

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Drake, R.H.; Williams, D.S.

    1997-10-01

    There are technologies in use for cleaning up concentrated tritiated process water. These are not cost effective for tritiated water with low concentrations of tritium. There are currently no cost-effective technologies for cleaning up low-tritium-concentration tritiated water, such as most tritiated groundwater, spent fuel storage basin water, or underground storage tank water. Resin removal of tritium from tritiated water at low concentrations (near the order of magnitude of drinking water standard maximums) is being tested on TA-SO (Los Alamos National Laboratory's Liquid Radioactive Waste Treatment Facility) waste streams. There are good theoretical and test indications that this may be a technologically effective means of removing tritium from tritiated water. Because of likely engineering design similarity, it is reasonable to anticipate that a resin column system's costs will be similar to some common commercial water treatment systems. Thus, the potential cost effectiveness of a resin treatment system offers hope for treating tritiated water at affordable costs. The TA-50 resin treatment cost projection of $18 per 1,000 gallons is within the same order of magnitude as cost data for typical commercial groundwater cleanup projects. The prospective Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) resin treatment system at $18 per 1,000 gallons appears to have a likely cost advantage of at least an order of magnitude over the competing, developmental, water detritiation technologies

  16. An improved set of standards for finding cost for cost-effectiveness analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barnett, Paul G

    2009-07-01

    Guidelines have helped standardize methods of cost-effectiveness analysis, allowing different interventions to be compared and enhancing the generalizability of study findings. There is agreement that all relevant services be valued from the societal perspective using a long-term time horizon and that more exact methods be used to cost services most affected by the study intervention. Guidelines are not specific enough with respect to costing methods, however. The literature was reviewed to identify the problems associated with the 4 principal methods of cost determination. Microcosting requires direct measurement and is ordinarily reserved to cost novel interventions. Analysts should include nonwage labor cost, person-level and institutional overhead, and the cost of development, set-up activities, supplies, space, and screening. Activity-based cost systems have promise of finding accurate costs of all services provided, but are not widely adopted. Quality must be evaluated and the generalizability of cost estimates to other settings must be considered. Administrative cost estimates, chiefly cost-adjusted charges, are widely used, but the analyst must consider items excluded from the available system. Gross costing methods determine quantity of services used and employ a unit cost. If the intervention will affect the characteristics of a service, the method should not assume that the service is homogeneous. Questions are posed for future reviews of the quality of costing methods. The analyst must avoid inappropriate assumptions, especially those that bias the analysis by exclusion of costs that are affected by the intervention under study.

  17. Optimization of solar cell contacts by system cost-per-watt minimization

    Science.gov (United States)

    Redfield, D.

    1977-01-01

    New, and considerably altered, optimum dimensions for solar-cell metallization patterns are found using the recently developed procedure whose optimization criterion is the minimum cost-per-watt effect on the entire photovoltaic system. It is also found that the optimum shadow fraction by the fine grid is independent of metal cost and resistivity as well as cell size. The optimum thickness of the fine grid metal depends on all these factors, and in familiar cases it should be appreciably greater than that found by less complete analyses. The optimum bus bar thickness is much greater than those generally used. The cost-per-watt penalty due to the need for increased amounts of metal per unit area on larger cells is determined quantitatively and thereby provides a criterion for the minimum benefits that must be obtained in other process steps to make larger cells cost effective.

  18. Can delivery systems use cost-effectiveness analysis to reduce healthcare costs and improve value?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Savitz, Lucy A; Savitz, Samuel T

    2016-01-01

    Understanding costs and ensuring that we demonstrate value in healthcare is a foundational presumption as we transform the way we deliver and pay for healthcare in the U.S. With a focus on population health and payment reforms underway, there is increased pressure to examine cost-effectiveness in healthcare delivery. Cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA) is a type of economic analysis comparing the costs and effects (i.e. health outcomes) of two or more treatment options. The result is expressed as a ratio where the denominator is the gain in health from a measure (e.g. years of life or quality-adjusted years of life) and the numerator is the incremental cost associated with that health gain. For higher cost interventions, the lower the ratio of costs to effects, the higher the value. While CEA is not new, the approach continues to be refined with enhanced statistical techniques and standardized methods. This article describes the CEA approach and also contrasts it to optional approaches, in order for readers to fully appreciate caveats and concerns. CEA as an economic evaluation tool can be easily misused owing to inappropriate assumptions, over reliance, and misapplication. Twelve issues to be considered in using CEA results to drive healthcare delivery decision-making are summarized. Appropriately recognizing both the strengths and the limitations of CEA is necessary for informed resource allocation in achieving the maximum value for healthcare services provided.

  19. Cost-effectiveness Analysis of Antipsychotic Combination Therapy in Schizophrenia Inpatients

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rizky Abdulah

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available Schizophrenia is one of mental disorders with high cost and lifetime morbidity risk. Hence, it is necessary to analyze the cost-effectiveness of various combinations of antipsychotics. The aim of this study was to analyze the most cost-effective group of antipsychotic combinations in schizophrenia inpatients in West Java Psychiatric Hospital during 2012–2013. Data were collected retrospectively from medical record of patients who used antipsychotics clozapine-haloperidol or clozapine-risperidone therapy. Direct medical costs were obtained from antipsychotics costs, costs of medical treatment, medical expenses, hospitalization costs, and administrative costs. The results showed that the average cost-effectiveness ratio of antipsychotic clozapine-haloperidol was Rp126.898/day and Rp132.781/day for the combination of clozapine-haloperidol and clozapine-risperidone, respectively. Considering length of stay as the therapy effectiveness, it can be concluded that the combination of clozapine-haloperidol is more cost-effective than clozapine-risperidone.

  20. The cost effectiveness of intracyctoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hollingsworth, Bruce; Harris, Anthony; Mortimer, Duncan

    2007-12-01

    To estimate the incremental cost effectiveness of ICSI, and total costs for the population of Australia. Treatment effects for three patient groups were drawn from a published systematic review and meta-analysis of trials comparing fertilisation outcomes for ICSI. Incremental costs derived from resource-based costing of ICSI and existing practice comparators for each patient group. Incremental cost per live birth for patients unsuited to IVF is estimated between A$8,500 and 13,400. For the subnormal semen indication, cost per live birth could be as low as A$3,600, but in the worst case scenario, there would just be additional incremental costs of A$600 per procedure. Multiplying out the additional costs of ICSI over the relevant target populations in Australia gives potential total financial implications of over A$31 million per annum. While there are additional benefits from ICSI procedure, particularly for those with subnormal sperm, the additional cost for the health care system is substantial.

  1. The Potential Cost-Effectiveness and Equity Impacts of Restricting Television Advertising of Unhealthy Food and Beverages to Australian Children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brown, Vicki; Ananthapavan, Jaithri; Veerman, Lennert; Sacks, Gary; Lal, Anita; Peeters, Anna; Backholer, Kathryn; Moodie, Marjory

    2018-05-15

    Television (TV) advertising of food and beverages high in fat, sugar and salt (HFSS) influences food preferences and consumption. Children from lower socioeconomic position (SEP) have higher exposure to TV advertising due to more time spent watching TV. This paper sought to estimate the cost-effectiveness of legislation to restrict HFSS TV advertising until 9:30 pm, and to examine how health benefits and healthcare cost-savings differ by SEP. Cost-effectiveness modelling was undertaken (i) at the population level, and (ii) by area-level SEP. A multi-state multiple-cohort lifetable model was used to estimate obesity-related health outcomes and healthcare cost-savings over the lifetime of the 2010 Australian population. Incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs) were reported, with assumptions tested through sensitivity analyses. An intervention restricting HFSS TV advertising would cost AUD5.9M (95% UI AUD5.8M⁻AUD7M), resulting in modelled reductions in energy intake (mean 115 kJ/day) and body mass index (BMI) (mean 0.352 kg/m²). The intervention is likely to be cost-saving, with 1.4 times higher total cost-savings and 1.5 times higher health benefits in the most disadvantaged socioeconomic group (17,512 HALYs saved (95% UI 10,372⁻25,155); total cost-savings AUD126.3M (95% UI AUD58.7M⁻196.9M) over the lifetime) compared to the least disadvantaged socioeconomic group (11,321 HALYs saved (95% UI 6812⁻15,679); total cost-savings AUD90.9M (95% UI AUD44.3M⁻136.3M)). Legislation to restrict HFSS TV advertising is likely to be cost-effective, with greater health benefits and healthcare cost-savings for children with low SEP.

  2. The Potential Cost-Effectiveness and Equity Impacts of Restricting Television Advertising of Unhealthy Food and Beverages to Australian Children

    Science.gov (United States)

    Veerman, Lennert; Lal, Anita; Peeters, Anna; Backholer, Kathryn; Moodie, Marjory

    2018-01-01

    Television (TV) advertising of food and beverages high in fat, sugar and salt (HFSS) influences food preferences and consumption. Children from lower socioeconomic position (SEP) have higher exposure to TV advertising due to more time spent watching TV. This paper sought to estimate the cost-effectiveness of legislation to restrict HFSS TV advertising until 9:30 pm, and to examine how health benefits and healthcare cost-savings differ by SEP. Cost-effectiveness modelling was undertaken (i) at the population level, and (ii) by area-level SEP. A multi-state multiple-cohort lifetable model was used to estimate obesity-related health outcomes and healthcare cost-savings over the lifetime of the 2010 Australian population. Incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs) were reported, with assumptions tested through sensitivity analyses. An intervention restricting HFSS TV advertising would cost AUD5.9M (95% UI AUD5.8M–AUD7M), resulting in modelled reductions in energy intake (mean 115 kJ/day) and body mass index (BMI) (mean 0.352 kg/m2). The intervention is likely to be cost-saving, with 1.4 times higher total cost-savings and 1.5 times higher health benefits in the most disadvantaged socioeconomic group (17,512 HALYs saved (95% UI 10,372–25,155); total cost-savings AUD126.3M (95% UI AUD58.7M–196.9M) over the lifetime) compared to the least disadvantaged socioeconomic group (11,321 HALYs saved (95% UI 6812–15,679); total cost-savings AUD90.9M (95% UI AUD44.3M–136.3M)). Legislation to restrict HFSS TV advertising is likely to be cost-effective, with greater health benefits and healthcare cost-savings for children with low SEP. PMID:29762517

  3. Simulation of the cost-effectiveness of malaria vaccines

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tediosi Fabrizio

    2009-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background A wide range of possible malaria vaccines is being considered and there is a need to identify which vaccines should be prioritized for clinical development. An important element of the information needed for this prioritization is a prediction of the cost-effectiveness of potential vaccines in the transmission settings in which they are likely to be deployed. This analysis needs to consider a range of delivery modalities to ensure that clinical development plans can be aligned with the most appropriate deployment strategies. Methods The simulations are based on a previously published individual-based stochastic model for the natural history and epidemiology of Plasmodium falciparum malaria. Three different vaccine types: pre-erythrocytic vaccines (PEV, blood stage vaccines (BSV, mosquito-stage transmission-blocking vaccines (MSTBV, and combinations of these, are considered each delivered via a range of delivery modalities (Expanded Programme of Immunization – EPI-, EPI with booster, and mass vaccination combined with EPI. The cost-effectiveness ratios presented are calculated for four health outcomes, for assumed vaccine prices of US$ 2 or US$ 10 per dose, projected over a 10-year period. Results The simulations suggest that PEV will be more cost-effective in low transmission settings, while BSV at higher transmission settings. Combinations of BSV and PEV are more efficient than PEV, especially in moderate to high transmission settings, while compared to BSV they are more cost-effective in moderate to low transmission settings. Combinations of MSTBV and PEV or PEV and BSV improve the effectiveness and the cost-effectiveness compared to PEV and BSV alone only when applied with EPI and mass vaccinations. Adding booster doses to the EPI is unlikely to be a cost-effective alternative to delivering vaccines via the EPI for any vaccine, while mass vaccination improves effectiveness, especially in low transmission settings, and is

  4. Cost-Effectiveness of Laparoscopic Hysterectomy With Morcellation Compared With Abdominal Hysterectomy for Presumed Myomas.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rutstein, Sarah E; Siedhoff, Matthew T; Geller, Elizabeth J; Doll, Kemi M; Wu, Jennifer M; Clarke-Pearson, Daniel L; Wheeler, Stephanie B

    2016-02-01

    Hysterectomy for presumed leiomyomata is 1 of the most common surgical procedures performed in nonpregnant women in the United States. Laparoscopic hysterectomy (LH) with morcellation is an appealing alternative to abdominal hysterectomy (AH) but may result in dissemination of malignant cells and worse outcomes in the setting of an occult leiomyosarcoma (LMS). We sought to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of LH versus AH. Decision-analytic model of 100 000 women in the United States assessing the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) in dollars per quality-adjusted life-year (QALY) gained (Canadian Task Force classification III). U.S. hospitals. Adult premenopausal women undergoing LH or AH for presumed benign leiomyomata. We developed a decision-analytic model from a provider perspective across 5 years, comparing the cost-effectiveness of LH to AH in terms of dollar (2014 US dollars) per QALY gained. The model included average total direct medical costs and utilities associated with the procedures, complications, and clinical outcomes. Baseline estimates and ranges for cost and probability data were drawn from the existing literature. Estimated overall deaths were lower in LH versus AH (98 vs 103). Death due to LMS was more common in LH versus AH (86 vs 71). Base-case assumptions estimated that average per person costs were lower in LH versus AH, with a savings of $2193 ($24 181 vs $26 374). Over 5 years, women in the LH group experienced 4.99 QALY versus women in the AH group with 4.91 QALY (incremental gain of .085 QALYs). LH dominated AH in base-case estimates: LH was both less expensive and yielded greater QALY gains. The ICER was sensitive to operative costs for LH and AH. Varying operative costs of AH yielded an ICER of $87 651/QALY gained (minimum) to AH being dominated (maximum). Probabilistic sensitivity analyses, in which all input parameters and costs were varied simultaneously, demonstrated a relatively robust model. The AH approach was dominated

  5. Cost-Effectiveness of the Freeze-All Policy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roque, Matheus; Valle, Marcello; Guimarães, Fernando; Sampaio, Marcos; Geber, Selmo

    2015-08-01

    To evaluate the cost-effectiveness of freeze-all cycles when compared to fresh embryo transfer. This was an observational study with a cost-effectiveness analysis. The analysis consisted of 530 intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) cycles in a private center in Brazil between January 2012 and December 2013. A total of 530 intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) cycles - 351 fresh embryo transfers and 179 freeze-all cycles - with a gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) antagonist protocol and day 3 embryo transfers. The pregnancy rate was 31.1% in the fresh group and 39.7% in the freeze-all group. We performed two scenario analyses for costs. In scenario 1, we included those costs associated with the ICSI cycle (monitoring during controlled ovarian stimulation [COS], oocyte retrieval, embryo transfer, IVF laboratory, and medical costs), embryo cryopreservation of supernumerary embryos, hormone measurements during COS and endometrial priming, medication use (during COS, endometrial priming, and luteal phase support), ultrasound scan for frozen- thawed embryo transfer (FET), obstetric ultrasounds, and miscarriage. The total cost (in USD) per pregnancy was statistically lower in the freeze-all cycles (19,156.73 ± 1,732.99) when compared to the fresh cycles (23,059.72 ± 2,347.02). Even in Scenario 2, when charging all of the patients in the freeze-all group for cryopreservation (regardless of supernumerary embryos) and for FET, the fresh cycles had a statistically significant increase in treatment costs per ongoing pregnancy. The results presented in this study suggest that the freeze-all policy is a cost-effective strategy when compared to fresh embryo transfer.

  6. Assessing the effect of standardized cost systems on financial performance. A difference-in-differences approach for hospitals according to their technological level.

    Science.gov (United States)

    García-Cornejo, Beatriz; Pérez-Méndez, José A

    2018-04-01

    Promoting the improvement of standardized cost systems (CS) is one of the measures available to health policy makers for the purpose of improving efficiency in hospitals over the long-term. Nevertheless, very few studies evaluate the relationship between alternative CS and the costs really incurred. We use data from 242 hospitals of the Spanish National Health Service (NHS) between 2010 and 2013 in order to explore the determinants of the cost per adjusted patient day, using a difference-in-differences approach where the treatment is the implementation of an advanced CS. We also investigate if the association between advanced CS and unit cost is different depending upon the technological level of the hospital. Results show that hospitals with more advanced CS contained their costs better. However, the latter effect of advanced CS is lower in hospitals with a greater endowment of high technology. Results suggest that health authorities should support the development of CS, particularly in high-tech hospitals, which are usually larger and more complex hospitals that tend to accumulate a greater portion of NHS hospital sector expenditure. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  7. Low-cost carriers fare competition effect

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Carmona Benitez, R.B.; Lodewijks, G.

    2010-01-01

    This paper examines the effects that low-cost carriers (LCC’s) produce when entering new routes operated only by full-service carriers (FSC’s) and routes operated by low-cost carriers in competition with full-service carriers. A mathematical model has been developed to determine what routes should

  8. Cost-Effectiveness of Percutaneous Closure of the Left Atrial Appendage in Atrial Fibrillation Based on Results from PROTECT AF vs. PREVAIL

    Science.gov (United States)

    Freeman, James V.; Hutton, David W.; Barnes, Geoffrey D.; Zhu, Ruo P.; Owens, Douglas K.; Garber, Alan M.; Go, Alan S.; Hlatky, Mark A.; Heidenreich, Paul A.; Wang, Paul J.; Al-Ahmad, Amin; Turakhia, Mintu P.

    2016-01-01

    Background Randomized trials of left atrial appendage (LAA) closure with the Watchman device have shown varying results, and its cost-effectiveness compared to anticoagulation has not been evaluated using all available contemporary trial data. Methods and Results We used a Markov decision model to estimate lifetime quality-adjusted survival, costs, and cost-effectiveness of LAA closure with Watchman, compared directly with warfarin and indirectly with dabigatran, using data from the long-term (mean 3.8 year) follow-up of PROTECT AF and PREVAIL randomized trials. Using data from PROTECT AF, the incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICER) compared to warfarin and dabigatran were $20,486 and $23,422 per quality adjusted life year (QALY), respectively. Using data from PREVAIL, LAA closure was dominated by warfarin and dabigatran, meaning that it was less effective (8.44, 8.54, and 8.59 QALYs, respectively) and more costly. At a willingness-to-pay-threshold of $50,000 per QALY, LAA closure was cost-effective 90% and 9% of the time under PROTECT AF and PREVAIL assumptions, respectively. These results were sensitive to the rates of ischemic stroke and intracranial hemorrhage for LAA closure and medical anticoagulation. Conclusions Using data from the PROTECT AF trial, LAA closure with the Watchman device was cost-effective; using PREVAIL trial data, Watchman was more costly and less effective than warfarin and dabigatran. PROTECT AF enrolled more patients and has substantially longer follow-up time, allowing greater statistical certainty with the cost-effectiveness results. However, longer term trial results and post-marketing surveillance of major adverse events will be vital to determining the value of the Watchman in clinical practice. PMID:27307517

  9. Cost-effectiveness analysis of treatments for premenstrual dysphoric disorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rendas-Baum, Regina; Yang, Min; Gricar, Joseph; Wallenstein, Gene V

    2010-01-01

    Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) is reported to affect between 13% and 31% of women. Between 3% and 8% of women are reported to meet criteria for the more severe form of PMS, premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD). Although PMDD has received increased attention in recent years, the cost effectiveness of treatments for PMDD remains unknown. To evaluate the cost effectiveness of the four medications with a US FDA-approved indication for PMDD: fluoxetine, sertraline, paroxetine and drospirenone plus ethinyl estradiol (DRSP/EE). A decision-analytic model was used to evaluate both direct costs (medication and physician visits) and clinical outcomes (treatment success, failure and discontinuation). Medication costs were based on average wholesale prices of branded products; physician visit costs were obtained from a claims database study of PMDD patients and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Clinical outcome probabilities were derived from published clinical trials in PMDD. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) was calculated using the difference in costs and percentage of successfully treated patients at 6 months. Deterministic and probabilistic sensitivity analyses were used to assess the impact of uncertainty in parameter estimates. Threshold values where a change in the cost-effective strategy occurred were identified using a net benefit framework. Starting therapy with DRSP/EE dominated both sertraline and paroxetine, but not fluoxetine. The estimated ICER of initiating treatment with fluoxetine relative to DRSP/EE was $US4385 per treatment success (year 2007 values). Cost-effectiveness acceptability curves revealed that for ceiling ratios>or=$US3450 per treatment success, fluoxetine had the highest probability (>or=0.37) of being the most cost-effective treatment, relative to the other options. The cost-effectiveness acceptability frontier further indicated that DRSP/EE remained the option with the highest expected net monetary benefit for

  10. Tapping Transaction Costs to Forecast Acquisition Cost Breaches

    Science.gov (United States)

    2016-01-01

    experience a cost breach. In our medical example, we could use survival analysis to identify risk fac- tors, such as obesity , that might indicate a greater... exogenous variables on the probability of a dichotomous outcome, such as whether or not a cost breach occurs in any given program year. Logit is

  11. Cost and cost effectiveness of long-lasting insecticide-treated bed nets - a model-based analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pulkki-Brännström Anni-Maria

    2012-04-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The World Health Organization recommends that national malaria programmes universally distribute long-lasting insecticide-treated bed nets (LLINs. LLINs provide effective insecticide protection for at least three years while conventional nets must be retreated every 6-12 months. LLINs may also promise longer physical durability (lifespan, but at a higher unit price. No prospective data currently available is sufficient to calculate the comparative cost effectiveness of different net types. We thus constructed a model to explore the cost effectiveness of LLINs, asking how a longer lifespan affects the relative cost effectiveness of nets, and if, when and why LLINs might be preferred to conventional insecticide-treated nets. An innovation of our model is that we also considered the replenishment need i.e. loss of nets over time. Methods We modelled the choice of net over a 10-year period to facilitate the comparison of nets with different lifespan (and/or price and replenishment need over time. Our base case represents a large-scale programme which achieves high coverage and usage throughout the population by distributing either LLINs or conventional nets through existing health services, and retreats a large proportion of conventional nets regularly at low cost. We identified the determinants of bed net programme cost effectiveness and parameter values for usage rate, delivery and retreatment cost from the literature. One-way sensitivity analysis was conducted to explicitly compare the differential effect of changing parameters such as price, lifespan, usage and replenishment need. Results If conventional and long-lasting bed nets have the same physical lifespan (3 years, LLINs are more cost effective unless they are priced at more than USD 1.5 above the price of conventional nets. Because a longer lifespan brings delivery cost savings, each one year increase in lifespan can be accompanied by a USD 1 or more increase in price

  12. Costs and cost-effectiveness of 9-valent human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination in two East African countries.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kiatpongsan, Sorapop; Kim, Jane J

    2014-01-01

    Current prophylactic vaccines against human papillomavirus (HPV) target two of the most oncogenic types, HPV-16 and -18, which contribute to roughly 70% of cervical cancers worldwide. Second-generation HPV vaccines include a 9-valent vaccine, which targets five additional oncogenic HPV types (i.e., 31, 33, 45, 52, and 58) that contribute to another 15-30% of cervical cancer cases. The objective of this study was to determine a range of vaccine costs for which the 9-valent vaccine would be cost-effective in comparison to the current vaccines in two less developed countries (i.e., Kenya and Uganda). The analysis was performed using a natural history disease simulation model of HPV and cervical cancer. The mathematical model simulates individual women from an early age and tracks health events and resource use as they transition through clinically-relevant health states over their lifetime. Epidemiological data on HPV prevalence and cancer incidence were used to adapt the model to Kenya and Uganda. Health benefit, or effectiveness, from HPV vaccination was measured in terms of life expectancy, and costs were measured in international dollars (I$). The incremental cost of the 9-valent vaccine included the added cost of the vaccine counterbalanced by costs averted from additional cancer cases prevented. All future costs and health benefits were discounted at an annual rate of 3% in the base case analysis. We conducted sensitivity analyses to investigate how infection with multiple HPV types, unidentifiable HPV types in cancer cases, and cross-protection against non-vaccine types could affect the potential cost range of the 9-valent vaccine. In the base case analysis in Kenya, we found that vaccination with the 9-valent vaccine was very cost-effective (i.e., had an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio below per-capita GDP), compared to the current vaccines provided the added cost of the 9-valent vaccine did not exceed I$9.7 per vaccinated girl. To be considered very cost-effective

  13. Encouraging smokers to quit: the cost effectiveness of reimbursing the costs of smoking cessation treatment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kaper, Janneke; Wagena, Edwin J; van Schayck, Constant P; Severens, Johan L

    2006-01-01

    Smoking cessation should be encouraged in order to increase life expectancy and reduce smoking-related healthcare costs. Results of a randomised trial suggested that reimbursing the costs of smoking cessation treatment (SCT) may lead to an increased use of SCT and an increased number of quitters versus no reimbursement. To assess whether reimbursement for SCT is a cost-effective intervention (from the Dutch societal perspective), we calculated the incremental costs per quitter and extrapolated this outcome to incremental costs per QALY saved versus no reimbursement. In the reimbursement trial, 1266 Dutch smokers were randomly assigned to the intervention or control group using a randomised double consent design. Reimbursement for SCT was offered to the intervention group for a period of 6 months. No reimbursement was offered to the control group. Prolonged abstinence from smoking was determined 6 months after the end of the reimbursement period. The QALYs gained from quitting were calculated until 80 years of age using data from the US. Costs (year 2002 values) were determined from the societal perspective during the reimbursement period (May-November 2002). Benefits were discounted at 4% per annum. The uncertainty of the incremental cost-effectiveness ratios was estimated using non-parametric bootstrapping. Eighteen participants in the control group (2.8%) and 35 participants in the intervention group (5.5%) successfully quit smoking. The costs per participant were 291 euro and 322 euro, respectively. If society is willing to pay 1000 euro or 10,000 euro for an additional 12-month quitter, the probability that reimbursement for SCT would be cost effective was 50% or 95%, respectively. If society is willing to pay 18,000 euro for a QALY, the probability that reimbursement for SCT would be cost effective was 95%. However, the external validity of the extrapolation from quitters to QALYs is uncertain and several assumptions had to be made. Reimbursement for SCT may

  14. Is individualized medicine more cost-effective? A systematic review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hatz, Maximilian H M; Schremser, Katharina; Rogowski, Wolf H

    2014-05-01

    Individualized medicine (IM) is a rapidly evolving field that is associated with both visions of more effective care at lower costs and fears of highly priced, low-value interventions. It is unclear which view is supported by the current evidence. Our objective was to systematically review the health economic evidence related to IM and to derive general statements on its cost-effectiveness. A literature search of MEDLINE database for English- and German-language studies was conducted. Cost-effectiveness and cost-utility studies for technologies meeting the MEDLINE medical subject headings (MeSH) definition of IM (genetically targeted interventions) were reviewed. This was followed by a standardized extraction of general study characteristics and cost-effectiveness results. Most of the 84 studies included in the synthesis were from the USA (n = 43, 51 %), cost-utility studies (n = 66, 79 %), and published since 2005 (n = 60, 71 %). The results ranged from dominant to dominated. The median value (cost-utility studies) was calculated to be rounded $US22,000 per quality-adjusted life year (QALY) gained (adjusted to $US, year 2008 values), which is equal to the rounded median cost-effectiveness in the peer-reviewed English-language literature according to a recent review. Many studies reported more than one strategy of IM with highly varying cost-effectiveness ratios. Generally, results differed according to test type, and tests for disease prognosis or screening appeared to be more favorable than tests to stratify patients by response or by risk of adverse effects. However, these results were not significant. Different definitions of IM could have been used. Quality assessment of the studies was restricted to analyzing transparency. IM neither seems to display superior cost-effectiveness than other types of medical interventions nor to be economically inferior. Instead, rather than 'whether' healthcare was individualized, the question of 'how' it was individualized was

  15. Cost-effectiveness and cost utility of community screening for glaucoma in urban India.

    Science.gov (United States)

    John, Denny; Parikh, Rajul

    2017-07-01

    Population-based screening for glaucoma has been demonstrated to be cost-effective if targeted at high-risk groups such as older adults and those with a family history of glaucoma, and through use of a technician for conducting initial assessment rather than a medical specialist. This study attempts to investigate the cost-effectiveness of a hypothetical community screening and subsequent treatment programme for glaucoma in comparison with current practice (i.e. with no screening programme but with some opportunistic case finding) in the urban areas of India. A hypothetical screening programme for both primary open-angle glaucoma and angle-closure disease was built for a population aged between 40 and 69 years in the urban areas of India. Screening and treatment costs were obtained from an administrator of a tertiary eye hospital in India. The probabilities for the screening pathway were derived from published literature and expert opinion. The glaucoma prevalence rates for urban areas were adapted from the Chennai Glaucoma Study findings. A decision-analytical model using TreeAge Pro 2015 was built to model events, costs and treatment pathways. One-way sensitivity analyses were conducted. The introduction of a community screening programme for glaucoma is likely to be cost-effective, the estimated incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) values being 10,668.68 when compared with no screening programme and would treat an additional 4443 cases and prevent 1790 person-years of blindness over a 10-year period in the urban areas of India. Sensitivity analyses revealed that glaucoma prevalence rates across various age groups, screening uptake rate, follow-up compliance after screening, treatment costs and utility values of health states associated with medical and surgical treatment of glaucoma had an impact on the ICER values of the screening programme. In comparison with current practice (i.e. without a screening programme but with some opportunistic case finding

  16. Cost-effectiveness of hysteroscopy screening for infertile women.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kasius, Jenneke C; Eijkemans, René J C; Mol, Ben W J; Fauser, Bart C J M; Fatemi, Human M; Broekmans, Frank J M

    2013-06-01

    This study assessed the cost-effectiveness of office hysteroscopy screening prior to IVF. Therefore, the cost-effectiveness of two distinct strategies - hysteroscopy after two failed IVF cycles (Failedhyst) and routine hysteroscopy prior to IVF (Routinehyst) - was compared with the reference strategy of no hysteroscopy (Nohyst). When present, intrauterine pathology was treated during hysteroscopy. Two models were constructed and evaluated in a decision analysis. In model I, all patients had an increase in pregnancy rate after screening hysteroscopy prior to IVF; in model II, only patients with intrauterine pathology would benefit. For each strategy, the total costs and live birth rates after a total of three IVF cycles were assessed. For model I (all patients benefit from hysteroscopy), Routinehyst was always cost-effective compared with Nohyst or Failedhyst. For the Routinehyst strategy, a monetary profit would be obtained in the case where hysteroscopy would increase the live birth rate after IVF by ≥ 2.8%. In model II (only patients with pathology benefit from hysteroscopy), Routinehyst also dominated Failedhyst. However, hysteroscopy performance resulted in considerable costs. In conclusion, the application of a routine hysteroscopy prior to IVF could be cost-effective. However, randomized trials confirming the effectiveness of hysteroscopy are needed. Copyright © 2013 Reproductive Healthcare Ltd. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. [Costs of health. Costs-effectiveness in case of lifestyle changes].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Apor, Péter

    2010-05-09

    Economical burden for the individuals and for the national budgets of chronic cardio-vasculo-metabolic diseases is high and is rapidly increasing. Costs of treatments and prevention are very different in countries of diverse culture, ethnicity, social-economical situations, but prevention with healthy foods and with adequate physical activity are cheaper than medicines anywhere in the world. A great couple of studies approved cost-effectiveness of interventions directed to the change of life style factors. Cheaper is to influence the whole, yet healthy population, but interventions on people with high risk are more target-specific and usually more expensive. Enhanced physical activity (minimum 30 minutes five times per week with low-medium intensity, plus resistance exercises for maintain the muscle mass and force, plus stretching and calisthenics to maintain joints motility) can be promoted by few hundred-few ten hundred euros or dollars. Price of gain in Quality/Disability-Adjusted Life Years expressed as Incremental Cost Effectiveness/Utility Ratio is known, estimated or modelled, and offers a good value of money.

  18. Greater physiological and behavioral effects of interrupted stress pattern compared to daily restraint stress in rats.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wei Zhang

    Full Text Available Repeated stress can trigger a range of psychiatric disorders, including anxiety. The propensity to develop abnormal behaviors after repeated stress is related to the severity, frequency and number of stressors. However, the pattern of stress exposure may contribute to the impact of stress. In addition, the anxiogenic nature of repeated stress exposure can be moderated by the degree of coping that occurs, and can be reflected in homotypic habituation to the repeated stress. However, expectations are not clear when a pattern of stress presentation is utilized that diminishes habituation. The purpose of these experiments is to test whether interrupted stress exposure decreases homotypic habituation and leads to greater effects on anxiety-like behavior in adult male rats. We found that repeated interrupted restraint stress resulted in less overall homotypic habituation compared to repeated daily restraint stress. This was demonstrated by greater production of fecal boli and greater corticosterone response to restraint. Furthermore, interrupted restraint stress resulted in a lower body weight and greater adrenal gland weight than daily restraint stress, and greater anxiety-like behavior in the elevated plus maze. Control experiments demonstrated that these effects of the interrupted pattern could not be explained by differences in the total number of stress exposures, differences in the total number of days that the stress periods encompased, nor could it be explained as a result of only the stress exposures after an interruption from stress. These experiments demonstrate that the pattern of stress exposure is a significant determinant of the effects of repeated stress, and that interrupted stress exposure that decreases habituation can have larger effects than a greater number of daily stress exposures. Differences in the pattern of stress exposure are therefore an important factor to consider when predicting the severity of the effects of repeated

  19. Hysteroscopic polypectomy prior to infertility treatment: A cost analysis and systematic review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mouhayar, Youssef; Yin, Ophelia; Mumford, Sunni L; Segars, James H

    2017-06-01

    The cost of fertility treatment is expensive and interventions that reduce cost can lead to greater efficiency and fewer embryos transferred. Endometrial polyps contribute to infertility and are frequently removed prior to infertility treatment. It is unclear whether polypectomy reduces fertility treatment cost and if so, the magnitude of cost reduction afforded by the procedure. The aim of this study was to determine whether performing office or operative hysteroscopic polypectomy prior to infertility treatment would be cost-effective. PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane libraries were used to identify publications reporting pregnancy rates after hysteroscopic polypectomy. Studies were required to have a polypectomy treatment group and control group of patients with polyps that were not resected. The charges of infertility treatments and polypectomy were obtained through infertility organizations and a private healthcare cost reporting website. These charges were applied to a decision tree model over the range of pregnancy rates observed in the representative studies to calculate an average cost per clinical or ongoing pregnancy. A sensitivity analysis was conducted to assess cost savings of polypectomy over a range of pregnancy rates and polypectomy costs. Pre-treatment office or operative hysteroscopic polypectomy ultimately saved €6658 ($7480) and €728 ($818), respectively, of the average cost per clinical pregnancy in women treated with four cycles of intrauterine insemination. Polypectomy prior to intrauterine insemination was cost-effective for clinical pregnancy rates greater than 30.2% for office polypectomy and 52.6% for operative polypectomy and for polypectomy price <€4414 ($4959). Office polypectomy or operative polypectomy saved €15,854 ($17,813) and €6644 ($7465), respectively, from the average cost per ongoing pregnancy for in vitro fertilization/intracytoplasmic sperm injection treated women and was cost-effective for ongoing pregnancy rates

  20. Cost-Effectiveness of a Clinical Childhood Obesity Intervention.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sharifi, Mona; Franz, Calvin; Horan, Christine M; Giles, Catherine M; Long, Michael W; Ward, Zachary J; Resch, Stephen C; Marshall, Richard; Gortmaker, Steven L; Taveras, Elsie M

    2017-11-01

    To estimate the cost-effectiveness and population impact of the national implementation of the Study of Technology to Accelerate Research (STAR) intervention for childhood obesity. In the STAR cluster-randomized trial, 6- to 12-year-old children with obesity seen at pediatric practices with electronic health record (EHR)-based decision support for primary care providers and self-guided behavior-change support for parents had significantly smaller increases in BMI than children who received usual care. We used a microsimulation model of a national implementation of STAR from 2015 to 2025 among all pediatric primary care providers in the United States with fully functional EHRs to estimate cost, impact on obesity prevalence, and cost-effectiveness. The expected population reach of a 10-year national implementation is ∼2 million children, with intervention costs of $119 per child and $237 per BMI unit reduced. At 10 years, assuming maintenance of effect, the intervention is expected to avert 43 000 cases and 226 000 life-years with obesity at a net cost of $4085 per case and $774 per life-year with obesity averted. Limiting implementation to large practices and using higher estimates of EHR adoption improved both cost-effectiveness and reach, whereas decreasing the maintenance of the intervention's effect worsened the former. A childhood obesity intervention with electronic decision support for clinicians and self-guided behavior-change support for parents may be more cost-effective than previous clinical interventions. Effective and efficient interventions that target children with obesity are necessary and could work in synergy with population-level prevention strategies to accelerate progress in reducing obesity prevalence. Copyright © 2017 by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

  1. Costs of Illness Due to Cholera, Costs of Immunization and Cost-Effectiveness of an Oral Cholera Mass Vaccination Campaign in Zanzibar

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schaetti, Christian; Weiss, Mitchell G.; Ali, Said M.; Chaignat, Claire-Lise; Khatib, Ahmed M.; Reyburn, Rita; Duintjer Tebbens, Radboud J.; Hutubessy, Raymond

    2012-01-01

    Background The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends oral cholera vaccines (OCVs) as a supplementary tool to conventional prevention of cholera. Dukoral, a killed whole-cell two-dose OCV, was used in a mass vaccination campaign in 2009 in Zanzibar. Public and private costs of illness (COI) due to endemic cholera and costs of the mass vaccination campaign were estimated to assess the cost-effectiveness of OCV for this particular campaign from both the health care provider and the societal perspective. Methodology/Principal Findings Public and private COI were obtained from interviews with local experts, with patients from three outbreaks and from reports and record review. Cost data for the vaccination campaign were collected based on actual expenditure and planned budget data. A static cohort of 50,000 individuals was examined, including herd protection. Primary outcome measures were incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICER) per death, per case and per disability-adjusted life-year (DALY) averted. One-way sensitivity and threshold analyses were conducted. The ICER was evaluated with regard to WHO criteria for cost-effectiveness. Base-case ICERs were USD 750,000 per death averted, USD 6,000 per case averted and USD 30,000 per DALY averted, without differences between the health care provider and the societal perspective. Threshold analyses using Shanchol and assuming high incidence and case-fatality rate indicated that the purchase price per course would have to be as low as USD 1.2 to render the mass vaccination campaign cost-effective from a health care provider perspective (societal perspective: USD 1.3). Conclusions/Significance Based on empirical and site-specific cost and effectiveness data from Zanzibar, the 2009 mass vaccination campaign was cost-ineffective mainly due to the relatively high OCV purchase price and a relatively low incidence. However, mass vaccination campaigns in Zanzibar to control endemic cholera may meet criteria for cost-effectiveness

  2. OPCAB surgery is cost-effective for elderly patients

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Houlind, Kim Christian; Kjeldsen, Bo Juul; Madsen, Susanne Nørgaard

    2013-01-01

    To determine the cost-effective operative strategy for coronary artery bypass surgery in patients above 70 years.......To determine the cost-effective operative strategy for coronary artery bypass surgery in patients above 70 years....

  3. Cost-effectiveness of early intervention in first-episode psychosis

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hastrup, Lene Halling; Kronborg, C; Bertelsen, M

    2013-01-01

    Background Information about the cost-effectiveness of early intervention programmes for first-episode psychosis is limited. Aims To evaluate the cost-effectiveness of an intensive early-intervention programme (called OPUS) (trial registration NCT00157313) consisting of enriched assertive community...... treatment, psychoeducational family treatment and social skills training for individuals with first-episode psychosis compared with standard treatment. Method An incremental cost-effectiveness analysis of a randomised controlled trial, adopting a public sector perspective was undertaken. Results The mean...... treatment group (51.13, s.d. = 15.92). However, the mean GAF did not differ significantly between the groups at 5-year follow-up (55.35 (s.d. = 18.28) and 54.16 (s.d. = 18.41), respectively). Cost-effectiveness planes based on non-parametric bootstrapping showed that OPUS was less costly and more effective...

  4. Cost-effectiveness of a pressure ulcer quality collaborative

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bal Roland

    2010-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background A quality improvement collaborative (QIC in the Dutch long-term care sector (nursing homes, assisted living facilities, home care used evidence-based prevention methods to reduce the incidence and prevalence of pressure ulcers (PUs. The collaborative consisted of a core team of experts and 25 organizational project teams. Our aim was to determine its cost-effectiveness from a healthcare perspective. Methods We used a non-controlled pre-post design to establish the change in incidence and prevalence of PUs in 88 patients over the course of a year. Staff indexed data and prevention methods (activities, materials. Quality of life (Qol weights were assigned to the PU states. We assessed the costs of activities and materials in the project. A Markov model was built based on effectiveness and cost data, complemented with a probabilistic sensitivity analysis. To illustrate the results of longer term, three scenarios were created in which change in incidence and prevalence measures were (1 not sustained, (2 partially sustained, and (3 completely sustained. Results Incidence of PUs decreased from 15% to 4.5% for the 88 patients. Prevalence decreased from 38.6% to 22.7%. Average Quality of Life (Qol of patients increased by 0.02 Quality Adjusted Life Years (QALYs in two years; healthcare costs increased by €2000 per patient; the Incremental Cost-effectiveness Ratio (ICER was between 78,500 and 131,000 depending on whether the changes in incidence and prevalence of PU were sustained. Conclusions During the QIC PU incidence and prevalence significantly declined. When compared to standard PU care, the QIC was probably more costly and more effective in the short run, but its long-term cost-effectiveness is questionable. The QIC can only be cost-effective if the changes in incidence and prevalence of PU are sustained.

  5. Cost-effectiveness of a pressure ulcer quality collaborative.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Makai, Peter; Koopmanschap, Marc; Bal, Roland; Nieboer, Anna P

    2010-06-01

    A quality improvement collaborative (QIC) in the Dutch long-term care sector (nursing homes, assisted living facilities, home care) used evidence-based prevention methods to reduce the incidence and prevalence of pressure ulcers (PUs). The collaborative consisted of a core team of experts and 25 organizational project teams. Our aim was to determine its cost-effectiveness from a healthcare perspective. We used a non-controlled pre-post design to establish the change in incidence and prevalence of PUs in 88 patients over the course of a year. Staff indexed data and prevention methods (activities, materials). Quality of life (Qol) weights were assigned to the PU states. We assessed the costs of activities and materials in the project. A Markov model was built based on effectiveness and cost data, complemented with a probabilistic sensitivity analysis. To illustrate the results of longer term, three scenarios were created in which change in incidence and prevalence measures were (1) not sustained, (2) partially sustained, and (3) completely sustained. Incidence of PUs decreased from 15% to 4.5% for the 88 patients. Prevalence decreased from 38.6% to 22.7%. Average Quality of Life (Qol) of patients increased by 0.02 Quality Adjusted Life Years (QALY)s in two years; healthcare costs increased by euro2000 per patient; the Incremental Cost-effectiveness Ratio (ICER) was between 78,500 and 131,000 depending on whether the changes in incidence and prevalence of PU were sustained. During the QIC PU incidence and prevalence significantly declined. When compared to standard PU care, the QIC was probably more costly and more effective in the short run, but its long-term cost-effectiveness is questionable. The QIC can only be cost-effective if the changes in incidence and prevalence of PU are sustained.

  6. Cost-effectiveness of a central venous catheter care bundle.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kate A Halton

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: A bundled approach to central venous catheter care is currently being promoted as an effective way of preventing catheter-related bloodstream infection (CR-BSI. Consumables used in the bundled approach are relatively inexpensive which may lead to the conclusion that the bundle is cost-effective. However, this fails to consider the nontrivial costs of the monitoring and education activities required to implement the bundle, or that alternative strategies are available to prevent CR-BSI. We evaluated the cost-effectiveness of a bundle to prevent CR-BSI in Australian intensive care patients. METHODS AND FINDINGS: A Markov decision model was used to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of the bundle relative to remaining with current practice (a non-bundled approach to catheter care and uncoated catheters, or use of antimicrobial catheters. We assumed the bundle reduced relative risk of CR-BSI to 0.34. Given uncertainty about the cost of the bundle, threshold analyses were used to determine the maximum cost at which the bundle remained cost-effective relative to the other approaches to infection control. Sensitivity analyses explored how this threshold alters under different assumptions about the economic value placed on bed-days and health benefits gained by preventing infection. If clinicians are prepared to use antimicrobial catheters, the bundle is cost-effective if national 18-month implementation costs are below $1.1 million. If antimicrobial catheters are not an option the bundle must cost less than $4.3 million. If decision makers are only interested in obtaining cash-savings for the unit, and place no economic value on either the bed-days or the health benefits gained through preventing infection, these cost thresholds are reduced by two-thirds. CONCLUSIONS: A catheter care bundle has the potential to be cost-effective in the Australian intensive care setting. Rather than anticipating cash-savings from this intervention, decision

  7. Cost-effectiveness analysis of rotavirus vaccination in Argentina.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Urueña, Analía; Pippo, Tomás; Betelu, María Sol; Virgilio, Federico; Hernández, Laura; Giglio, Norberto; Gentile, Ángela; Diosque, Máximo; Vizzotti, Carla

    2015-05-07

    Rotavirus is a leading cause of severe diarrhea in children under 5. In Argentina, the most affected regions are the Northeast and Northwest, where hospitalizations and deaths are more frequent. This study estimated the cost-effectiveness of adding either of the two licensed rotavirus vaccines to the routine immunization schedule. The integrated TRIVAC vaccine cost-effectiveness model from the Pan American Health Organization's ProVac Initiative (Version 2.0) was used to assess health benefits, costs savings, life-years gained (LYGs), DALYs averted, and cost/DALY averted of vaccinating 10 successive cohorts, from the health care system and societal perspectives. Two doses of monovalent (RV1) rotavirus vaccine and three doses of pentavalent (RV5) rotavirus vaccine were each compared to a scenario assuming no vaccination. The price/dose was US$ 7.50 and US$ 5.15 for RV1 and RV5, respectively. We ran both a national and sub-national analysis, discounting all costs and benefits 3% annually. Our base case results were compared to a range of alternative univariate and multivariate scenarios. The number of LYGs was 5962 and 6440 for RV1 and RV5, respectively. The cost/DALY averted when compared to no vaccination from the health care system and societal perspective was: US$ 3870 and US$ 1802 for RV1, and US$ 2414 and US$ 358 for RV5, respectively. Equivalent figures for the Northeast were US$ 1470 and US$ 636 for RV1, and US$ 913 and US$ 80 for RV5. Therefore, rotavirus vaccination was more cost-effective in the Northeast compared to the whole country; and, in the Northwest, health service's costs saved outweighed the cost of introducing the vaccine. Vaccination with either vaccine compared to no vaccination was highly cost-effective based on WHO guidelines and Argentina's 2011 per capita GDP of US$ 9090. Key variables influencing results were vaccine efficacy, annual loss of efficacy, relative coverage of deaths, vaccine price, and discount rate. Compared to no

  8. Cost-effective conservation of an endangered frog under uncertainty.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rose, Lucy E; Heard, Geoffrey W; Chee, Yung En; Wintle, Brendan A

    2016-04-01

    How should managers choose among conservation options when resources are scarce and there is uncertainty regarding the effectiveness of actions? Well-developed tools exist for prioritizing areas for one-time and binary actions (e.g., protect vs. not protect), but methods for prioritizing incremental or ongoing actions (such as habitat creation and maintenance) remain uncommon. We devised an approach that combines metapopulation viability and cost-effectiveness analyses to select among alternative conservation actions while accounting for uncertainty. In our study, cost-effectiveness is the ratio between the benefit of an action and its economic cost, where benefit is the change in metapopulation viability. We applied the approach to the case of the endangered growling grass frog (Litoria raniformis), which is threatened by urban development. We extended a Bayesian model to predict metapopulation viability under 9 urbanization and management scenarios and incorporated the full probability distribution of possible outcomes for each scenario into the cost-effectiveness analysis. This allowed us to discern between cost-effective alternatives that were robust to uncertainty and those with a relatively high risk of failure. We found a relatively high risk of extinction following urbanization if the only action was reservation of core habitat; habitat creation actions performed better than enhancement actions; and cost-effectiveness ranking changed depending on the consideration of uncertainty. Our results suggest that creation and maintenance of wetlands dedicated to L. raniformis is the only cost-effective action likely to result in a sufficiently low risk of extinction. To our knowledge we are the first study to use Bayesian metapopulation viability analysis to explicitly incorporate parametric and demographic uncertainty into a cost-effective evaluation of conservation actions. The approach offers guidance to decision makers aiming to achieve cost-effective

  9. Comparative Cost-Effectiveness of Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy Versus Intensity-Modulated and Proton Radiation Therapy for Localized Prostate Cancer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Parthan, Anju; Pruttivarasin, Narin; Davies, Diane; Taylor, Douglas C. A.; Pawar, Vivek; Bijlani, Akash; Lich, Kristen Hassmiller; Chen, Ronald C.

    2012-01-01

    Objective: To determine the cost-effectiveness of several external beam radiation treatment modalities for the treatment of patients with localized prostate cancer. Methods: A lifetime Markov model incorporated the probabilities of experiencing treatment-related long-term toxicity or death. Toxicity probabilities were derived from published sources using meta-analytical techniques. Utilities and costs in the model were obtained from publicly available secondary sources. The model calculated quality-adjusted life expectancy and expected lifetime cost per patient, and derived ratios of incremental cost per quality-adjusted life year (QALY) gained between treatments. Analyses were conducted from both payer and societal perspectives. One-way and probabilistic sensitivity analyses were performed. Results: Compared to intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) and proton beam therapy (PT), stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) was less costly and resulted in more QALYs. Sensitivity analyses showed that the conclusions in the base-case scenario were robust with respect to variations in toxicity and cost parameters consistent with available evidence. At a threshold of $50,000/QALY, SBRT was cost-effective in 75% and 94% of probabilistic simulations compared to IMRT and PT, respectively, from a payer perspective. From a societal perspective, SBRT was cost-effective in 75% and 96% of simulations compared to IMRT and PT, respectively, at a threshold of $50,000/QALY. In threshold analyses, SBRT was less expensive with better outcomes compared to IMRT at toxicity rates 23% greater than the SBRT base-case rates. Conclusion: Based on the assumption that each treatment modality results in equivalent long-term efficacy, SBRT is a cost-effective strategy resulting in improved quality-adjusted survival compared to IMRT and PT for the treatment of localized prostate cancer.

  10. Cost-Effectiveness Analysis of Regorafenib for Metastatic Colorectal Cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goldstein, Daniel A; Ahmad, Bilal B; Chen, Qiushi; Ayer, Turgay; Howard, David H; Lipscomb, Joseph; El-Rayes, Bassel F; Flowers, Christopher R

    2015-11-10

    Regorafenib is a standard-care option for treatment-refractory metastatic colorectal cancer that increases median overall survival by 6 weeks compared with placebo. Given this small incremental clinical benefit, we evaluated the cost-effectiveness of regorafenib in the third-line setting for patients with metastatic colorectal cancer from the US payer perspective. We developed a Markov model to compare the cost and effectiveness of regorafenib with those of placebo in the third-line treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer. Health outcomes were measured in life-years and quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs). Drug costs were based on Medicare reimbursement rates in 2014. Model robustness was addressed in univariable and probabilistic sensitivity analyses. Regorafenib provided an additional 0.04 QALYs (0.13 life-years) at a cost of $40,000, resulting in an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of $900,000 per QALY. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio for regorafenib was > $550,000 per QALY in all of our univariable and probabilistic sensitivity analyses. Regorafenib provides minimal incremental benefit at high incremental cost per QALY in the third-line management of metastatic colorectal cancer. The cost-effectiveness of regorafenib could be improved by the use of value-based pricing. © 2015 by American Society of Clinical Oncology.

  11. How does cognitive dissonance influence the sunk cost effect?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chung SH

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available Shao-Hsi Chung,1 Kuo-Chih Cheng2 1Department of Business Administration, Meiho University, Pingtung, Taiwan; 2Department of Accounting, National Changhua University of Education, Changhua City, Taiwan Background: The sunk cost effect is the scenario when individuals are willing to continue to invest capital in a failing project. The purpose of this study was to explain such irrational behavior by exploring how sunk costs affect individuals’ willingness to continue investing in an unfavorable project and to understand the role of cognitive dissonance on the sunk cost effect. Methods: This study used an experimental questionnaire survey on managers of firms listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange and Over-The-Counter. Results: The empirical results show that cognitive dissonance does not mediate the relationship between sunk costs and willingness to continue an unfavorable investment project. However, cognitive dissonance has a moderating effect, and only when the level of cognitive dissonance is high does the sunk cost have significantly positive impacts on willingness to continue on with an unfavorable investment. Conclusion: This study offers psychological mechanisms to explain the sunk cost effect based on the theory of cognitive dissonance, and it also provides some recommendations for corporate management. Keywords: sunk costs, sunk cost effect, cognitive dissonance, behavior, unfavorable investment

  12. Acid rain abatement in Belgium: lessons in cost-effectiveness studies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cuijpers, C.; Proost, S.

    1992-01-01

    In this paper a cost-effectiveness analysis is presented for combating emissions of acid precursors. The focus of concern is to reach the environmental quality goal at least cost. Two cost-effective approaches are elaborated. Firstly, the maximum allowable emission of each acid precursor seperately is allocated in a cost-effective way across the economic sectors. Secondly, the maximum allowable emissions of acid precursors are allocated in a cost-effective way across the three considered acid precursors as well as across the economic sectors. It is argued that not only the energy consumption but also the agricultural sector could play an important role in a cost-effective strategy by curtailing its ammonia emissions. 6 refs., 8 figs., 1 tab

  13. Cost-utility and cost-effectiveness studies of telemedicine, electronic, and mobile health systems in the literature: a systematic review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    de la Torre-Díez, Isabel; López-Coronado, Miguel; Vaca, Cesar; Aguado, Jesús Saez; de Castro, Carlos

    2015-02-01

    A systematic review of cost-utility and cost-effectiveness research works of telemedicine, electronic health (e-health), and mobile health (m-health) systems in the literature is presented. Academic databases and systems such as PubMed, Scopus, ISI Web of Science, and IEEE Xplore were searched, using different combinations of terms such as "cost-utility" OR "cost utility" AND "telemedicine," "cost-effectiveness" OR "cost effectiveness" AND "mobile health," etc. In the articles searched, there were no limitations in the publication date. The search identified 35 relevant works. Many of the articles were reviews of different studies. Seventy-nine percent concerned the cost-effectiveness of telemedicine systems in different specialties such as teleophthalmology, telecardiology, teledermatology, etc. More articles were found between 2000 and 2013. Cost-utility studies were done only for telemedicine systems. There are few cost-utility and cost-effectiveness studies for e-health and m-health systems in the literature. Some cost-effectiveness studies demonstrate that telemedicine can reduce the costs, but not all. Among the main limitations of the economic evaluations of telemedicine systems are the lack of randomized control trials, small sample sizes, and the absence of quality data and appropriate measures.

  14. Cost-effectiveness of pharmacotherapy to reduce obesity.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J Lennert Veerman

    Full Text Available AIMS: Obesity causes a high disease burden in Australia and across the world. We aimed to analyse the cost-effectiveness of weight reduction with pharmacotherapy in Australia, and to assess its potential to reduce the disease burden due to excess body weight. METHODS: We constructed a multi-state life-table based Markov model in Excel in which body weight influences the incidence of stroke, ischemic heart disease, hypertensive heart disease, diabetes mellitus, osteoarthritis, post-menopausal breast cancer, colon cancer, endometrial cancer and kidney cancer. We use data on effectiveness identified from PubMed searches, on mortality from Australian Bureau of Statistics, on disease costs from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, and on drug costs from the Department of Health and Ageing. We evaluate 1-year pharmacological interventions with sibutramine and orlistat targeting obese Australian adults free of obesity-related disease. We use a lifetime horizon for costs and health outcomes and a health sector perspective for costs. Incremental Cost-Effectiveness Ratios (ICERs below A$50 000 per Disability Adjusted Life Year (DALY averted are considered good value for money. RESULTS: The ICERs are A$130 000/DALY (95% uncertainty interval [UI] 93 000-180 000 for sibutramine and A$230 000/DALY (170 000-340 000 for orlistat. The interventions reduce the body weight-related disease burden at the population level by 0.2% and 0.1%, respectively. Modest weight loss during the interventions, rapid post-intervention weight regain and low adherence limit the health benefits. CONCLUSIONS: Treatment with sibutramine or orlistat is not cost-effective from an Australian health sector perspective and has a negligible impact on the total body weight-related disease burden.

  15. Comparing the relative cost-effectiveness of diagnostic studies: a new model

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Patton, D.D.; Woolfenden, J.M.; Wellish, K.L.

    1986-01-01

    We have developed a model to compare the relative cost-effectiveness of two or more diagnostic tests. The model defines a cost-effectiveness ratio (CER) for a diagnostic test as the ratio of effective cost to base cost, only dollar costs considered. Effective cost includes base cost, cost of dealing with expected side effects, and wastage due to imperfect test performance. Test performance is measured by diagnostic utility (DU), a measure of test outcomes incorporating the decision-analytic variables sensitivity, specificity, equivocal fraction, disease probability, and outcome utility. Each of these factors affecting DU, and hence CER, is a local, not universal, value; these local values strongly affect CER, which in effect becomes a property of the local medical setting. When DU = +1 and there are no adverse effects, CER = 1 and the patient benefits from the test dollar for dollar. When there are adverse effects effective cost exceeds base cost, and for an imperfect test DU 1. As DU approaches 0 (worthless test), CER approaches infinity (no effectiveness at any cost). If DU is negative, indicating that doing the test at all would be detrimental, CER also becomes negative. We conclude that the CER model is a useful preliminary method for ranking the relative cost-effectiveness of diagnostic tests, and that the comparisons would best be done using local values; different groups might well arrive at different rankings. (Author)

  16. Effect of prospective reimbursement on nursing home costs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coburn, A F; Fortinsky, R; McGuire, C; McDonald, T P

    1993-04-01

    This study evaluates the effect of Maine's Medicaid nursing home prospective payment system on nursing home costs and access to care for public patients. The implementation of a facility-specific prospective payment system for nursing homes provided the opportunity for longitudinal study of the effect of that system. Data sources included audited Medicaid nursing home cost reports, quality-of-care data from state facility survey and licensure files, and facility case-mix information from random, stratified samples of homes and residents. Data were obtained for six years (1979-1985) covering the three-year period before and after implementation of the prospective payment system. This study used a pre-post, longitudinal analytical design in which interrupted, time-series regression models were estimated to test the effects of prospective payment and other factors, e.g., facility characteristics, nursing home market factors, facility case mix, and quality of care, on nursing home costs. Prospective payment contributed to an estimated $3.03 decrease in total variable costs in the third year from what would have been expected under the previous retrospective cost-based payment system. Responsiveness to payment system efficiency incentives declined over the study period, however, indicating a growing problem in achieving further cost reductions. Some evidence suggested that cost reductions might have reduced access for public patients. Study findings are consistent with the results of other studies that have demonstrated the effectiveness of prospective payment systems in restraining nursing home costs. Potential policy trade-offs among cost containment, access, and quality assurance deserve further consideration, particularly by researchers and policymakers designing the new generation of case mix-based and other nursing home payment systems.

  17. A cost-effectiveness analysis of two different antimicrobial stewardship programs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Okumura, Lucas Miyake; Riveros, Bruno Salgado; Gomes-da-Silva, Monica Maria; Veroneze, Izelandia

    2016-01-01

    There is a lack of formal economic analysis to assess the efficiency of antimicrobial stewardship programs. Herein, we conducted a cost-effectiveness study to assess two different strategies of Antimicrobial Stewardship Programs. A 30-day Markov model was developed to analyze how cost-effective was a Bundled Antimicrobial Stewardship implemented in a university hospital in Brazil. Clinical data derived from a historical cohort that compared two different strategies of antimicrobial stewardship programs and had 30-day mortality as main outcome. Selected costs included: workload, cost of defined daily doses, length of stay, laboratory and imaging resources used to diagnose infections. Data were analyzed by deterministic and probabilistic sensitivity analysis to assess model's robustness, tornado diagram and Cost-Effectiveness Acceptability Curve. Bundled Strategy was more expensive (Cost difference US$ 2119.70), however, it was more efficient (US$ 27,549.15 vs 29,011.46). Deterministic and probabilistic sensitivity analysis suggested that critical variables did not alter final Incremental Cost-Effectiveness Ratio. Bundled Strategy had higher probabilities of being cost-effective, which was endorsed by cost-effectiveness acceptability curve. As health systems claim for efficient technologies, this study conclude that Bundled Antimicrobial Stewardship Program was more cost-effective, which means that stewardship strategies with such characteristics would be of special interest in a societal and clinical perspective. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Editora Ltda. All rights reserved.

  18. A cost-effectiveness analysis of two different antimicrobial stewardship programs

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lucas Miyake Okumura

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available There is a lack of formal economic analysis to assess the efficiency of antimicrobial stewardship programs. Herein, we conducted a cost-effectiveness study to assess two different strategies of Antimicrobial Stewardship Programs. A 30-day Markov model was developed to analyze how cost-effective was a Bundled Antimicrobial Stewardship implemented in a university hospital in Brazil. Clinical data derived from a historical cohort that compared two different strategies of antimicrobial stewardship programs and had 30-day mortality as main outcome. Selected costs included: workload, cost of defined daily doses, length of stay, laboratory and imaging resources used to diagnose infections. Data were analyzed by deterministic and probabilistic sensitivity analysis to assess model's robustness, tornado diagram and Cost-Effectiveness Acceptability Curve. Bundled Strategy was more expensive (Cost difference US$ 2119.70, however, it was more efficient (US$ 27,549.15 vs 29,011.46. Deterministic and probabilistic sensitivity analysis suggested that critical variables did not alter final Incremental Cost-Effectiveness Ratio. Bundled Strategy had higher probabilities of being cost-effective, which was endorsed by cost-effectiveness acceptability curve. As health systems claim for efficient technologies, this study conclude that Bundled Antimicrobial Stewardship Program was more cost-effective, which means that stewardship strategies with such characteristics would be of special interest in a societal and clinical perspective.

  19. A systematic review of the cost and cost-effectiveness of electronic discharge communications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sevick, Laura K; Esmail, Rosmin; Tang, Karen; Lorenzetti, Diane L; Ronksley, Paul; James, Matthew; Santana, Maria; Ghali, William A; Clement, Fiona

    2017-07-02

    The transition between acute care and community care can be a vulnerable period in a patients' treatment due to the potential for postdischarge adverse events. The vulnerability of this period has been attributed to factors related to the miscommunication between hospital-based and community-based physicians. Electronic discharge communication has been proposed as one solution to bridge this communication gap. Prior to widespread implementation of these tools, the costs and benefits should be considered. To establish the cost and cost-effectiveness of electronic discharge communications compared with traditional discharge systems for individuals who have completed care with one provider and are transitioning care to a new provider. We conducted a systematic review of the published literature, using best practices, to identify economic evaluations/cost analyses of electronic discharge communication tools. Inclusion criteria were: (1) economic analysis and (2) electronic discharge communication tool as the intervention. Quality of each article was assessed, and data were summarised using a component-based analysis. One thousand unique abstracts were identified, and 57 full-text articles were assessed for eligibility. Four studies met final inclusion criteria. These studies varied in their primary objectives, methodology, costs reported and outcomes. All of the studies were of low to good quality. Three of the studies reported a cost-effectiveness measure ranging from an incremental daily cost of decreasing average discharge note completion by 1 day of $0.331 (2003 Canadian), a cost per page per discharge letter of €9.51 and a dynamic net present value of €31.1 million for a 5-year implementation of the intervention. None of the identified studies considered clinically meaningful patient or quality outcomes. Economic analyses of electronic discharge communications are scarcely reported, and with inconsistent methodology and outcomes. Further studies are needed

  20. Higher cost of implementing Xpert(®) MTB/RIF in Ugandan peripheral settings: implications for cost-effectiveness.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hsiang, E; Little, K M; Haguma, P; Hanrahan, C F; Katamba, A; Cattamanchi, A; Davis, J L; Vassall, A; Dowdy, D

    2016-09-01

    Initial cost-effectiveness evaluations of Xpert(®) MTB/RIF for tuberculosis (TB) diagnosis have not fully accounted for the realities of implementation in peripheral settings. To evaluate costs and diagnostic outcomes of Xpert testing implemented at various health care levels in Uganda. We collected empirical cost data from five health centers utilizing Xpert for TB diagnosis, using an ingredients approach. We reviewed laboratory and patient records to assess outcomes at these sites and10 sites without Xpert. We also estimated incremental cost-effectiveness of Xpert testing; our primary outcome was the incremental cost of Xpert testing per newly detected TB case. The mean unit cost of an Xpert test was US$21 based on a mean monthly volume of 54 tests per site, although unit cost varied widely (US$16-58) and was primarily determined by testing volume. Total diagnostic costs were 2.4-fold higher in Xpert clinics than in non-Xpert clinics; however, Xpert only increased diagnoses by 12%. The diagnostic costs of Xpert averaged US$119 per newly detected TB case, but were as high as US$885 at the center with the lowest volume of tests. Xpert testing can detect TB cases at reasonable cost, but may double diagnostic budgets for relatively small gains, with cost-effectiveness deteriorating with lower testing volumes.

  1. Cost and cost effectiveness of vaginal progesterone gel in reducing preterm birth: an economic analysis of the PREGNANT trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pizzi, Laura T; Seligman, Neil S; Baxter, Jason K; Jutkowitz, Eric; Berghella, Vincenzo

    2014-05-01

    Preterm birth (PTB) is a costly public health problem in the USA. The PREGNANT trial tested the efficacy of vaginal progesterone (VP) 8 % gel in reducing the likelihood of PTB among women with a short cervix. We calculated the costs and cost effectiveness of VP gel versus placebo using decision analytic models informed by PREGNANT patient-level data. PREGNANT enrolled 459 pregnant women with a cervical length of 10-20 mm and randomized them to either VP 8 % gel or placebo. We used a cost model to estimate the total cost of treatment per mother and a cost-effectiveness model to estimate the cost per PTB averted with VP gel versus placebo. Patient-level trial data informed model inputs and included PTB rates in low- and high-risk women in each study group at <28 weeks gestation, 28-31, 32-36, and ≥37 weeks. Cost assumptions were based on 2010 US healthcare services reimbursements. The cost model was validated against patient-level data. Sensitivity analyses were used to test the robustness of the cost-effectiveness model. The estimated cost per mother was $US23,079 for VP gel and $US36,436 for placebo. The cost-effectiveness model showed savings of $US24,071 per PTB averted with VP gel. VP gel realized cost savings and cost effectiveness in 79 % of simulations. Based on findings from PREGNANT, VP gel was associated with cost savings and cost effectiveness compared with placebo. Future trials designed to include cost metrics are needed to better understand the value of VP.

  2. The relationship between cost system complexity, purposes of use, and cost system effectiveness

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Schoute, M.

    2009-01-01

    This paper uses survey data from 133 Dutch, medium-sized manufacturing firms to examine the associations between cost system complexity (in terms of the applied overhead absorption procedures), purposes of use, and cost system effectiveness. First, factor analysis identifies two underlying

  3. Cost-effectiveness in the management of Dupuytren's contracture. A Canadian cost-utility analysis of current and future management strategies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baltzer, H; Binhammer, P A

    2013-08-01

    In Canada, Dupuytren's contracture is managed with partial fasciectomy or percutaneous needle aponeurotomy (PNA). Injectable collagenase will soon be available. The optimal management of Dupuytren's contracture is controversial and trade-offs exist between the different methods. Using a cost-utility analysis approach, our aim was to identify the most cost-effective form of treatment for managing Dupuytren's contracture it and the threshold at which collagenase is cost-effective. We developed an expected-value decision analysis model for Dupuytren's contracture affecting a single finger, comparing the cost-effectiveness of fasciectomy, aponeurotomy and collagenase from a societal perspective. Cost-effectiveness, one-way sensitivity and variability analyses were performed using standard thresholds for cost effective treatment ($50 000 to $100 000/QALY gained). Percutaneous needle aponeurotomy was the preferred strategy for managing contractures affecting a single finger. The cost-effectiveness of primary aponeurotomy improved when repeated to treat recurrence. Fasciectomy was not cost-effective. Collagenase was cost-effective relative to and preferred over aponeurotomy at $875 and $470 per course of treatment, respectively. In summary, our model supports the trend towards non-surgical interventions for managing Dupuytren's contracture affecting a single finger. Injectable collagenase will only be feasible in our publicly funded healthcare system if it costs significantly less than current United States pricing.

  4. Nonintravenous rescue medications for pediatric status epilepticus: A cost-effectiveness analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sánchez Fernández, Iván; Gaínza-Lein, Marina; Loddenkemper, Tobias

    2017-08-01

    To quantify the cost-effectiveness of rescue medications for pediatric status epilepticus: rectal diazepam, nasal midazolam, buccal midazolam, intramuscular midazolam, and nasal lorazepam. Decision analysis model populated with effectiveness data from the literature and cost data from publicly available market prices. The primary outcome was cost per seizure stopped ($/SS). One-way sensitivity analyses and second-order Monte Carlo simulations evaluated the robustness of the results across wide variations of the input parameters. The most cost-effective rescue medication was buccal midazolam (incremental cost-effectiveness ratio ([ICER]: $13.16/SS) followed by nasal midazolam (ICER: $38.19/SS). Nasal lorazepam (ICER: -$3.8/SS), intramuscular midazolam (ICER: -$64/SS), and rectal diazepam (ICER: -$2,246.21/SS) are never more cost-effective than the other options at any willingness to pay. One-way sensitivity analysis showed the following: (1) at its current effectiveness, rectal diazepam would become the most cost-effective option only if its cost was $6 or less, and (2) at its current cost, rectal diazepam would become the most cost-effective option only if effectiveness was higher than 0.89 (and only with very high willingness to pay of $2,859/SS to $31,447/SS). Second-order Monte Carlo simulations showed the following: (1) nasal midazolam and intramuscular midazolam were the more effective options; (2) the more cost-effective option was buccal midazolam for a willingness to pay from $14/SS to $41/SS and nasal midazolam for a willingness to pay above $41/SS; (3) cost-effectiveness overlapped for buccal midazolam, nasal lorazepam, intramuscular midazolam, and nasal midazolam; and (4) rectal diazepam was not cost-effective at any willingness to pay, and this conclusion remained extremely robust to wide variations of the input parameters. For pediatric status epilepticus, buccal midazolam and nasal midazolam are the most cost-effective nonintravenous rescue

  5. Cost-Effectiveness of Percutaneous Closure of the Left Atrial Appendage in Atrial Fibrillation Based on Results From PROTECT AF Versus PREVAIL.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Freeman, James V; Hutton, David W; Barnes, Geoffrey D; Zhu, Ruo P; Owens, Douglas K; Garber, Alan M; Go, Alan S; Hlatky, Mark A; Heidenreich, Paul A; Wang, Paul J; Al-Ahmad, Amin; Turakhia, Mintu P

    2016-06-01

    Randomized trials of left atrial appendage (LAA) closure with the Watchman device have shown varying results, and its cost effectiveness compared with anticoagulation has not been evaluated using all available contemporary trial data. We used a Markov decision model to estimate lifetime quality-adjusted survival, costs, and cost effectiveness of LAA closure with Watchman, compared directly with warfarin and indirectly with dabigatran, using data from the long-term (mean 3.8 year) follow-up of Percutaneous Closure of the Left Atrial Appendage Versus Warfarin Therapy for Prevention of Stroke in Patients With Atrial Fibrillation (PROTECT AF) and Prospective Randomized Evaluation of the Watchman LAA Closure Device in Patients With Atrial Fibrillation (PREVAIL) randomized trials. Using data from PROTECT AF, the incremental cost-effectiveness ratios compared with warfarin and dabigatran were $20 486 and $23 422 per quality-adjusted life year, respectively. Using data from PREVAIL, LAA closure was dominated by warfarin and dabigatran, meaning that it was less effective (8.44, 8.54, and 8.59 quality-adjusted life years, respectively) and more costly. At a willingness-to-pay threshold of $50 000 per quality-adjusted life year, LAA closure was cost effective 90% and 9% of the time under PROTECT AF and PREVAIL assumptions, respectively. These results were sensitive to the rates of ischemic stroke and intracranial hemorrhage for LAA closure and medical anticoagulation. Using data from the PROTECT AF trial, LAA closure with the Watchman device was cost effective; using PREVAIL trial data, Watchman was more costly and less effective than warfarin and dabigatran. PROTECT AF enrolled more patients and has substantially longer follow-up time, allowing greater statistical certainty with the cost-effectiveness results. However, longer-term trial results and postmarketing surveillance of major adverse events will be vital to determining the value of the Watchman in clinical

  6. The cost-effectiveness of rotavirus vaccination in Armenia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jit, Mark; Yuzbashyan, Ruzanna; Sahakyan, Gayane; Avagyan, Tigran; Mosina, Liudmila

    2011-11-08

    The cost-effectiveness of introducing infant rotavirus vaccination in Armenia in 2012 using Rotarix(R) was evaluated using a multiple birth cohort model. The model considered the cost and health implications of hospitalisations, primary health care consultations and episodes not leading to medical care in children under five years old. Rotavirus vaccination is expected to cost the Ministry of Health $220,000 in 2012, rising to $830,000 in 2016 following termination of GAVI co-financing, then declining to $260,000 in 2025 due to vaccine price maturity. It may reduce health care costs by $34,000 in the first year, rising to $180,000 by 2019. By 2025, vaccination may be close to cost saving to the Ministry of Health if the vaccine purchase price declines as expected. Once coverage has reached high levels, vaccination may prevent 25,000 cases, 3000 primary care consultations, 1000 hospitalisations and 8 deaths per birth cohort vaccinated. The cost per disability-adjusted life year (DALY) saved is estimated to be about $650 from the perspective of the Ministry of Health, $850 including costs accrued to both the Ministry and to GAVI, $820 from a societal perspective excluding indirect costs and $44 from a societal perspective including indirect costs. Since the gross domestic product per capita of Armenia in 2008 was $3800, rotavirus vaccination is likely to be regarded as "very cost-effective" from a WHO standpoint. Vaccination may still be "very cost-effective" if less favourable assumptions are used regarding vaccine price and disease incidence, as long as DALYs are not age-weighted. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. At What Cost? Examining the Cost Effectiveness of a Universal Social-Emotional Learning Program

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hunter, Leah J.; DiPerna, James C.; Hart, Susan Crandall; Crowley, Max

    2018-01-01

    Although implementation of universal social-emotional learning programs is becoming more common in schools, few studies have examined the cost-effectiveness of such programs. As such, the purpose of this article is two fold. First, we provide an overview of cost-effectiveness methods for school-based programs, and second, we share results of a…

  8. Versatility of cooperative transcriptional activation: a thermodynamical modeling analysis for greater-than-additive and less-than-additive effects.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Till D Frank

    Full Text Available We derive a statistical model of transcriptional activation using equilibrium thermodynamics of chemical reactions. We examine to what extent this statistical model predicts synergy effects of cooperative activation of gene expression. We determine parameter domains in which greater-than-additive and less-than-additive effects are predicted for cooperative regulation by two activators. We show that the statistical approach can be used to identify different causes of synergistic greater-than-additive effects: nonlinearities of the thermostatistical transcriptional machinery and three-body interactions between RNA polymerase and two activators. In particular, our model-based analysis suggests that at low transcription factor concentrations cooperative activation cannot yield synergistic greater-than-additive effects, i.e., DNA transcription can only exhibit less-than-additive effects. Accordingly, transcriptional activity turns from synergistic greater-than-additive responses at relatively high transcription factor concentrations into less-than-additive responses at relatively low concentrations. In addition, two types of re-entrant phenomena are predicted. First, our analysis predicts that under particular circumstances transcriptional activity will feature a sequence of less-than-additive, greater-than-additive, and eventually less-than-additive effects when for fixed activator concentrations the regulatory impact of activators on the binding of RNA polymerase to the promoter increases from weak, to moderate, to strong. Second, for appropriate promoter conditions when activator concentrations are increased then the aforementioned re-entrant sequence of less-than-additive, greater-than-additive, and less-than-additive effects is predicted as well. Finally, our model-based analysis suggests that even for weak activators that individually induce only negligible increases in promoter activity, promoter activity can exhibit greater

  9. How does cognitive dissonance influence the sunk cost effect?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chung, Shao-Hsi; Cheng, Kuo-Chih

    2018-01-01

    The sunk cost effect is the scenario when individuals are willing to continue to invest capital in a failing project. The purpose of this study was to explain such irrational behavior by exploring how sunk costs affect individuals' willingness to continue investing in an unfavorable project and to understand the role of cognitive dissonance on the sunk cost effect. This study used an experimental questionnaire survey on managers of firms listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange and Over-The-Counter. The empirical results show that cognitive dissonance does not mediate the relationship between sunk costs and willingness to continue an unfavorable investment project. However, cognitive dissonance has a moderating effect, and only when the level of cognitive dissonance is high does the sunk cost have significantly positive impacts on willingness to continue on with an unfavorable investment. This study offers psychological mechanisms to explain the sunk cost effect based on the theory of cognitive dissonance, and it also provides some recommendations for corporate management.

  10. Effect of the Enabling Perception of Costing Systems by Managers in the Performance of their Tasks

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Guilherme Eduardo de Souza

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available The goal of this study is to analyze the effect of the enabling perception of costing systems by managers in the performance of their tasks, mediated by the intensity in of use of these costing systems and the level of psychological empowerment. The research was carried out through a survey of 62 companies listed in the Perfil das Empresas com Projetos Aprovados ou em Implantação na Zona Franca de Manaus Profile of Companies, in 2014. With a view to analyzing the hypotheses replicated from Mahama’s and Cheng’s (2013 study, the Structural Equations Modeling technique wasused. The research results show that the managers’ enabling perception of costing systems does not affect their  intensity of use, but it impacts on psychological empowerment, and this is directly reflected in the performance of tasks, indicating that the greater the empowerment, the better manager performance will be. It isconcluded that the model partially supports the relationships delineated and that the antecedents related to the costing systems require further study.

  11. Cost-effectiveness of implant-supported mandibular removable partial dentures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jensen, Charlotte; Ross, Jamila; Feenstra, Talitha L; Raghoebar, Gerry M; Speksnijder, Caroline; Meijer, Henny J A; Cune, Marco S

    2017-05-01

    The aim of this study was to conduct a cost-effectiveness analysis comparing conventional removable partial dentures (RPDs) and implant-supported RPDs (ISRPDs) treatment in patients with an edentulous maxilla and a bilateral free-ending situation in the mandible. Thirty subjects were included. A new RPD was made and implant support was provided 3 months later. Treatment costs (opportunity costs and costs based on tariffs) were calculated. Treatment effect was expressed by means of the Dutch Oral Health Impact Profile questionnaire (OHIP-NL49), a chewing ability test (Mixing Ability Index, MAI) and a short-form health survey measuring perceived general health (SF-36), which was subsequently converted into quality-adjusted-life-years (QALYs). The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) was the primary outcome measure of cost-effectiveness, comparing both treatment strategies. The mean total opportunity costs were €981 (95% CI €971-€991) for the RPD treatment and €2.480 (95% CI €2.461-€2.500) for the ISRPD treatment. The total costs derived from the national tariff structure were €850 for the RPD treatment and €2.610 for the ISRPD treatment. The ICER for OHIP-NL49 and MAI using the opportunity costs was €80 and €786, respectively. When using the tariff structure, corresponding ICERs were €94 and €921. The effect of supporting an RPD with implants when expressed in QALYs was negligible; hence an ICER was not determined. It is concluded that depending on the choice of outcome measure and monetary threshold, supporting an RPD with implants is cost-effective when payers are willing to pay more than €80 per OHIP point gained. Per MAI point gained, an additional €786 has to be invested. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  12. Uncertainty in decision models analyzing cost-effectiveness : The joint distribution of incremental costs and effectiveness evaluated with a nonparametric bootstrap method

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hunink, Maria; Bult, J.R.; De Vries, J; Weinstein, MC

    1998-01-01

    Purpose. To illustrate the use of a nonparametric bootstrap method in the evaluation of uncertainty in decision models analyzing cost-effectiveness. Methods. The authors reevaluated a previously published cost-effectiveness analysis that used a Markov model comparing initial percutaneous

  13. Cost-effectiveness of retreatment with varenicline after failure with or relapse after initial treatment for smoking cessation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lieven Annemans

    2015-01-01

    Conclusion: This analysis suggests that in the long term, varenicline retreatment is a dominant intervention, meaning both greater health gains and greater costs saved, over other possible interventions and therefore should be considered as a standard option.

  14. Should Cost-Effectiveness Analysis Include the Cost of Consumption Activities? AN Empirical Investigation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Adarkwah, Charles Christian; Sadoghi, Amirhossein; Gandjour, Afschin

    2016-02-01

    There has been a debate on whether cost-effectiveness analysis should consider the cost of consumption and leisure time activities when using the quality-adjusted life year as a measure of health outcome under a societal perspective. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the effects of ill health on consumptive activities are spontaneously considered in a health state valuation exercise and how much this matters. The survey enrolled patients with inflammatory bowel disease in Germany (n = 104). Patients were randomized to explicit and no explicit instruction for the consideration of consumption and leisure effects in a time trade-off (TTO) exercise. Explicit instruction to consider non-health-related utility in TTO exercises did not influence TTO scores. However, spontaneous consideration of non-health-related utility in patients without explicit instruction (60% of respondents) led to significantly lower TTO scores. Results suggest an inclusion of consumption costs in the numerator of the cost-effectiveness ratio, at least for those respondents who spontaneously consider non-health-related utility from treatment. Results also suggest that exercises eliciting health valuations from the general public may include a description of the impact of disease on consumptive activities. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  15. Analyses of Blood Bank Efficiency, Cost-Effectiveness and Quality

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lam, Hwai-Tai Chen

    In view of the increasing costs of hospital care, it is essential to investigate methods to improve the labor efficiency and the cost-effectiveness of the hospital technical core in order to control costs while maintaining the quality of care. This study was conducted to develop indices to measure efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and the quality of blood banks; to identify factors associated with efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and quality; and to generate strategies to improve blood bank labor efficiency and cost-effectiveness. Indices developed in this study for labor efficiency and cost-effectiveness were not affected by patient case mix and illness severity. Factors that were associated with labor efficiency were identified as managerial styles, and organizational designs that balance workload and labor resources. Medical directors' managerial involvement was not associated with labor efficiency, but their continuing education and specialty in blood bank were found to reduce the performance of unnecessary tests. Surprisingly, performing unnecessary tests had no association with labor efficiency. This suggested the existence of labor slack in blood banks. Cost -effectiveness was associated with workers' benefits, wages, and the production of high-end transfusion products by hospital-based donor rooms. Quality indices used in this study included autologous transfusion rates, platelet transfusion rates, and the check points available in an error-control system. Because the autologous transfusion rate was related to patient case mix, severity of illness, and possible inappropriate transfusion, it was not recommended to be used for quality index. Platelet-pheresis transfusion rates were associated with the transfusion preferences of the blood bank medical directors. The total number of check points in an error -control system was negatively associated with government ownership and workers' experience. Recommendations for improving labor efficiency and cost-effectiveness

  16. Cost-effectiveness of barium enemas performed by radiographers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brown, Lorraine; Desai, Sharad

    2002-01-01

    AIM: To assess the cost-effectiveness of barium enemas performed by radiographers compared to those performed by consultant radiologists. METHOD: Prospective study of 200 barium enemas carried out by a senior radiographer and a consultant radiologist. The sample was a consecutive sample of adult out-patients over a 3-month period, with no exclusion. The length of time of the enema and the numbers and grades of staff involved in the procedure were recorded. This was translated into staffing costs using the appropriate pay scales. RESULTS: The barium enemas performed by the superintendent radiographer were more cost-effective than those performed by the consultant radiologist (1406 pounds for 100 radiographer-performed barium enemas compared to 1787 pounds for 100 carried out by the consultant radiologist). CONCLUSION: In terms of staffing costs, radiographers performing barium enemas not only liberates radiologist time, it is also a cost-effective method of providing an out-patient barium enema service. Brown, L. and Desai, S. (2002)

  17. Cost-effectiveness of minimally invasive sacroiliac joint fusion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cher, Daniel J; Frasco, Melissa A; Arnold, Renée Jg; Polly, David W

    2016-01-01

    Sacroiliac joint (SIJ) disorders are common in patients with chronic lower back pain. Minimally invasive surgical options have been shown to be effective for the treatment of chronic SIJ dysfunction. To determine the cost-effectiveness of minimally invasive SIJ fusion. Data from two prospective, multicenter, clinical trials were used to inform a Markov process cost-utility model to evaluate cumulative 5-year health quality and costs after minimally invasive SIJ fusion using triangular titanium implants or non-surgical treatment. The analysis was performed from a third-party perspective. The model specifically incorporated variation in resource utilization observed in the randomized trial. Multiple one-way and probabilistic sensitivity analyses were performed. SIJ fusion was associated with a gain of approximately 0.74 quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) at a cost of US$13,313 per QALY gained. In multiple one-way sensitivity analyses all scenarios resulted in an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) dysfunction due to degenerative sacroiliitis or SIJ disruption.

  18. Future Costs, Fixed Healthcare Budgets, and the Decision Rules of Cost-Effectiveness Analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Baal, Pieter; Meltzer, David; Brouwer, Werner

    2016-02-01

    Life-saving medical technologies result in additional demand for health care due to increased life expectancy. However, most economic evaluations do not include all medical costs that may result from this additional demand in health care and include only future costs of related illnesses. Although there has been much debate regarding the question to which extent future costs should be included from a societal perspective, the appropriate role of future medical costs in the widely adopted but more narrow healthcare perspective has been neglected. Using a theoretical model, we demonstrate that optimal decision rules for cost-effectiveness analyses assuming fixed healthcare budgets dictate that future costs of both related and unrelated medical care should be included. Practical relevance of including the costs of future unrelated medical care is illustrated using the example of transcatheter aortic valve implantation. Our findings suggest that guidelines should prescribe inclusion of these costs. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  19. Better informing decision making with multiple outcomes cost-effectiveness analysis under uncertainty in cost-disutility space.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McCaffrey, Nikki; Agar, Meera; Harlum, Janeane; Karnon, Jonathon; Currow, David; Eckermann, Simon

    2015-01-01

    Comparing multiple, diverse outcomes with cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA) is important, yet challenging in areas like palliative care where domains are unamenable to integration with survival. Generic multi-attribute utility values exclude important domains and non-health outcomes, while partial analyses-where outcomes are considered separately, with their joint relationship under uncertainty ignored-lead to incorrect inference regarding preferred strategies. The objective of this paper is to consider whether such decision making can be better informed with alternative presentation and summary measures, extending methods previously shown to have advantages in multiple strategy comparison. Multiple outcomes CEA of a home-based palliative care model (PEACH) relative to usual care is undertaken in cost disutility (CDU) space and compared with analysis on the cost-effectiveness plane. Summary measures developed for comparing strategies across potential threshold values for multiple outcomes include: expected net loss (ENL) planes quantifying differences in expected net benefit; the ENL contour identifying preferred strategies minimising ENL and their expected value of perfect information; and cost-effectiveness acceptability planes showing probability of strategies minimising ENL. Conventional analysis suggests PEACH is cost-effective when the threshold value per additional day at home (1) exceeds $1,068 or dominated by usual care when only the proportion of home deaths is considered. In contrast, neither alternative dominate in CDU space where cost and outcomes are jointly considered, with the optimal strategy depending on threshold values. For example, PEACH minimises ENL when 1=$2,000 and 2=$2,000 (threshold value for dying at home), with a 51.6% chance of PEACH being cost-effective. Comparison in CDU space and associated summary measures have distinct advantages to multiple domain comparisons, aiding transparent and robust joint comparison of costs and multiple

  20. Cost-effectiveness analysis in minimally invasive spine surgery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Al-Khouja, Lutfi T; Baron, Eli M; Johnson, J Patrick; Kim, Terrence T; Drazin, Doniel

    2014-06-01

    Medical care has been evolving with the increased influence of a value-based health care system. As a result, more emphasis is being placed on ensuring cost-effectiveness and utility in the services provided to patients. This study looks at this development in respect to minimally invasive spine surgery (MISS) costs. A literature review using PubMed, the Cost-Effectiveness Analysis (CEA) Registry, and the National Health Service Economic Evaluation Database (NHS EED) was performed. Papers were included in the study if they reported costs associated with minimally invasive spine surgery (MISS). If there was no mention of cost, CEA, cost-utility analysis (CUA), quality-adjusted life year (QALY), quality, or outcomes mentioned, then the article was excluded. Fourteen studies reporting costs associated with MISS in 12,425 patients (3675 undergoing minimally invasive procedures and 8750 undergoing open procedures) were identified through PubMed, the CEA Registry, and NHS EED. The percent cost difference between minimally invasive and open approaches ranged from 2.54% to 33.68%-all indicating cost saving with a minimally invasive surgical approach. Average length of stay (LOS) for minimally invasive surgery ranged from 0.93 days to 5.1 days compared with 1.53 days to 12 days for an open approach. All studies reporting EBL reported lower volume loss in an MISS approach (range 10-392.5 ml) than in an open approach (range 55-535.5 ml). There are currently an insufficient number of studies published reporting the costs of MISS. Of the studies published, none have followed a standardized method of reporting and analyzing cost data. Preliminary findings analyzing the 14 studies showed both cost saving and better outcomes in MISS compared with an open approach. However, more Level I CEA/CUA studies including cost/QALY evaluations with specifics of the techniques utilized need to be reported in a standardized manner to make more accurate conclusions on the cost effectiveness of

  1. Design of cost effective antennas for instrumentation radars

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Botha, L

    2012-09-01

    Full Text Available The cost of antennas for instrumentation radars are determined by the development cost. By re-use of the reflector system cost effective antennas can be designed. The factors governing the design of such antennas are described here....

  2. A Cost-effectiveness Analysis of Early vs Late Tracheostomy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, C Carrie; Rudmik, Luke

    2016-10-01

    The timing of tracheostomy in critically ill patients requiring mechanical ventilation is controversial. An important consideration that is currently missing in the literature is an evaluation of the economic impact of an early tracheostomy strategy vs a late tracheostomy strategy. To evaluate the cost-effectiveness of the early tracheostomy strategy vs the late tracheostomy strategy. This economic analysis was performed using a decision tree model with a 90-day time horizon. The economic perspective was that of the US health care third-party payer. The primary outcome was the incremental cost per tracheostomy avoided. Probabilities were obtained from meta-analyses of randomized clinical trials. Costs were obtained from the published literature and the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project database. A multivariate probabilistic sensitivity analysis was performed to account for uncertainty surrounding mean values used in the reference case. The reference case demonstrated that the cost of the late tracheostomy strategy was $45 943.81 for 0.36 of effectiveness. The cost of the early tracheostomy strategy was $31 979.12 for 0.19 of effectiveness. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio for the late tracheostomy strategy compared with the early tracheostomy strategy was $82 145.24 per tracheostomy avoided. With a willingness-to-pay threshold of $50 000, the early tracheostomy strategy is cost-effective with 56% certainty. The adaptation of an early vs a late tracheostomy strategy depends on the priorities of the decision-maker. Up to a willingness-to-pay threshold of $80 000 per tracheostomy avoided, the early tracheostomy strategy has a higher probability of being the more cost-effective intervention.

  3. A Cost-Effectiveness Analysis Model for Evaluating and Planning Secondary Vocational Programs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Jin Eun

    1977-01-01

    This paper conceptualizes a cost-effectiveness analysis and describes a cost-effectiveness analysis model for secondary vocational programs. It generates three kinds of cost-effectiveness measures: program effectiveness, cost efficiency, and cost-effectiveness and/or performance ratio. (Author)

  4. The Cost-Effectiveness of School-Based Eating Disorder Screening

    Science.gov (United States)

    Austin, S. Bryn; LeAnn Noh, H.; Jiang, Yushan; Sonneville, Kendrin R.

    2014-01-01

    Objectives. We aimed to assess the value of school-based eating disorder (ED) screening for a hypothetical cohort of US public school students. Methods. We used a decision-analytic microsimulation model to model the effectiveness (life-years with ED and quality-adjusted life-years [QALYs]), total direct costs, and cost-effectiveness (cost per QALY gained) of screening relative to current practice. Results. The screening strategy cost $2260 (95% confidence interval [CI] = $1892, $2668) per student and resulted in a per capita gain of 0.25 fewer life-years with ED (95% CI = 0.21, 0.30) and 0.04 QALYs (95% CI = 0.03, 0.05) relative to current practice. The base case cost-effectiveness of the intervention was $9041 per life-year with ED avoided (95% CI = $6617, $12 344) and $56 500 per QALY gained (95% CI = $38 805, $71 250). Conclusions. At willingness-to-pay thresholds of $50 000 and $100 000 per QALY gained, school-based ED screening is 41% and 100% likely to be cost-effective, respectively. The cost-effectiveness of ED screening is comparable to many other accepted pediatric health interventions, including hypertension screening. PMID:25033131

  5. Welfare effects of the internalization of external cost

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lijesen, M.; Korteweg, J.A.; Derriks, H.

    2009-03-01

    The effect of passing through the cost of external effects such as accidents, environment and noise to traffic and transport have been mapped. In nine out of the ten examined variants this 'internalization' will lead to an increase in welfare in the Netherlands. Internalization leads to a decrease of external costs of over 100 million to more than 1.7 billion euros annually. Internalization also brings about collection costs, international transfers and logistic adjustments. The balance of these effects varies from a welfare loss of 20 million euros to a welfare increase of 1.2 billion euros annually. [nl

  6. Cost-effectiveness of particle therapy: Current evidence and future needs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pijls-Johannesma, Madelon; Pommier, Pascal; Lievens, Yolande

    2008-01-01

    Purpose: Questions are being raised regarding the cost of particle therapy (PT), and with them criticism that PT is too expensive to allow the expected gain in effectiveness. This paper aims to get more insight in the cost and cost-effectiveness of particle therapy and to discuss a future strategy that allows for critical assessment of this health technology. Material and methods: A systematic literature review based on an earlier published comprehensive review was performed and updated until June 1st 2008. Besides, current business plans of PT projects were examined. Additionally, results retrieved from a cost-simulation tool developed under auspice of the ENLIGHT were discussed. Results: The current literature on cost-effectiveness of PT is scarce, non-comparable, and largely not performed according to standard health technology assessment criteria. Besides, different perspectives for cost evaluations have been used, making it difficult to compare and to determine the relative impact in terms of costs for this new treatment modality. Conclusions: Evidence on the cost-effectiveness of PT is scarce. Adequate reimbursement is necessary to support such innovative yet costly treatments. For now, model-based economic evaluations performed at least from a health care perspective may help us to gain evidence-based insight into cost-effectiveness

  7. Cost-effectiveness of pneumococcal conjugate vaccination in Croatia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vučina, V Višekruna; Filipović, S Kurečić; Kožnjak, N; Stamenić, V; Clark, A D; Mounaud, B; Blau, J; Hoestlandt, C; Kaić, B

    2015-05-07

    Pneumococcus is a known cause of meningitis, pneumonia, sepsis, and acute otitis media in children and adults globally. Two new vaccines for children have the potential to prevent illness, disability, and death, but these vaccines are expensive. The Croatian Ministry of Health has considered introducing the vaccine in the past, but requires economic evidence to ensure that the limited funds available for health care will be used in the most effective way. Croatia appointed a multidisciplinary team of experts to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of introducing pneumococcal conjugate vaccination (PCV) into the national routine child immunization program. Both 10-valent and 13-valent PCV (PCV10 and PCV13) were compared to a scenario assuming no vaccination. The TRIVAC decision-support model was used to estimate cost-effectiveness over the period 2014-2033. We used national evidence on demographics, pneumococcal disease incidence and mortality, the age distribution of disease in children, health service utilization, vaccine coverage, vaccine timeliness, and serotype coverage. Vaccine effectiveness was based on evidence from the scientific literature. Detailed health care costs were not available from the Croatian Institute for Health Insurance at the time of the analysis so assumptions and World Health Organization (WHO) estimates for Croatia were used. We assumed a three-dose primary vaccination schedule, and an initial price of US$ 30 per dose for PCV10 and US$ 35 per dose for PCV13. We ran univariate sensitivity analyses and multivariate scenario analyses. Either vaccine is estimated to prevent approximately 100 hospital admissions and one death each year in children younger than five in Croatia. Compared to no vaccine, the discounted cost-effectiveness of either vaccine is estimated to be around US$ 69,000-77,000 per disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) averted over the period 2014-2033 (from the government or societal perspective). Only two alternative scenarios

  8. Cost-effectiveness analysis of treatments for vertebral compression fractures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Edidin, Avram A; Ong, Kevin L; Lau, Edmund; Schmier, Jordana K; Kemner, Jason E; Kurtz, Steven M

    2012-07-01

    Vertebral compression fractures (VCFs) can be treated by nonsurgical management or by minimally invasive surgical treatment including vertebroplasty and balloon kyphoplasty. The purpose of the present study was to characterize the cost to Medicare for treating VCF-diagnosed patients by nonsurgical management, vertebroplasty, or kyphoplasty. We hypothesized that surgical treatments for VCFs using vertebroplasty or kyphoplasty would be a cost-effective alternative to nonsurgical management for the Medicare patient population. Cost per life-year gained for VCF patients in the US Medicare population was compared between operated (kyphoplasty and vertebroplasty) and non-operated patients and between kyphoplasty and vertebroplasty patients, all as a function of patient age and gender. Life expectancy was estimated using a parametric Weibull survival model (adjusted for comorbidities) for 858 978 VCF patients in the 100% Medicare dataset (2005-2008). Median payer costs were identified for each treatment group for up to 3 years following VCF diagnosis, based on 67 018 VCF patients in the 5% Medicare dataset (2005-2008). A discount rate of 3% was used for the base case in the cost-effectiveness analysis, with 0% and 5% discount rates used in sensitivity analyses. After accounting for the differences in median costs and using a discount rate of 3%, the cost per life-year gained for kyphoplasty and vertebroplasty patients ranged from $US1863 to $US6687 and from $US2452 to $US13 543, respectively, compared with non-operated patients. The cost per life-year gained for kyphoplasty compared with vertebroplasty ranged from -$US4878 (cost saving) to $US2763. Among patients for whom surgical treatment was indicated, kyphoplasty was found to be cost effective, and perhaps even cost saving, compared with vertebroplasty. Even for the oldest patients (85 years of age and older), both interventions would be considered cost effective in terms of cost per life-year gained.

  9. Comparative cost-effectiveness of stereotactic body radiation therapy versus intensity-modulated and proton radiation therapy for localized prostate cancer.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anju eParthan

    2012-08-01

    Full Text Available Objective. To determine the cost-effectiveness of several external beam radiation treatment modalities for the treatment of patients with localized prostate cancer.Methods. A lifetime Markov model incorporated the probabilities of experiencing treatment-related long-term toxicity or death. Toxicity probabilities were derived from published sources using meta-analytical techniques. Utilities and costs in the model were obtained from publically available secondary sources. The model calculated quality-adjusted life expectancy and expected lifetime cost per patient, and derived ratios of incremental cost per quality-adjusted life year (QALY gained between treatments. Analyses were conducted from both a payer and societal perspectives. One-way and probabilistic sensitivity analyses were performed.Results. Compared to intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT and proton beam therapy (PT, stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT was less costly and resulted in more QALYs. Sensitivity analyses showed that the conclusions in the base-case scenario were robust with respect to variations in toxicity and cost parameters consistent with available evidence. At a threshold of $50,000/QALY, SBRT was cost effective in 75%, and 94% of probabilistic simulations compared to IMRT and PT, respectively, from a payer perspective. From a societal perspective, SBRT was cost-effective in 75%, and 96% of simulations compared to IMRT and PT, respectively, at a threshold of $50,000/QALY. In threshold analyses, SBRT was less expensive with better outcomes compared to IMRT at toxicity rates 23% greater than the SBRT base-case rates. Conclusions. Based on the assumption that each treatment modality results in equivalent long-term efficacy, SBRT is a cost-effective strategy resulting in improved quality-adjusted survival compared to IMRT and PT for the treatment of localized prostate cancer.

  10. Methodology for Evaluating Cost-effectiveness of Commercial Energy Code Changes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hart, Philip R. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Liu, Bing [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)

    2015-01-31

    This document lays out the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) method for evaluating the cost-effectiveness of energy code proposals and editions. The evaluation is applied to provisions or editions of the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) Standard 90.1 and the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC). The method follows standard life-cycle cost (LCC) economic analysis procedures. Cost-effectiveness evaluation requires three steps: 1) evaluating the energy and energy cost savings of code changes, 2) evaluating the incremental and replacement costs related to the changes, and 3) determining the cost-effectiveness of energy code changes based on those costs and savings over time.

  11. Cost-effectiveness of secondary screening modalities for hypertension.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Y Claire; Koval, Alisa M; Nakamura, Miyabi; Newman, Jonathan D; Schwartz, Joseph E; Stone, Patricia W

    2013-02-01

    Clinic-based blood pressure (CBP) has been the default approach for the diagnosis of hypertension, but patients may be misclassified because of masked hypertension (false negative) or 'white coat' hypertension (false positive). The incorporation of other diagnostic modalities, such as home blood pressure monitoring (HBPM) and ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM), holds promise to improve diagnostic accuracy and subsequent treatment decisions. We reviewed the literature on the costs and cost-effectiveness of adding HBPM and ABPM to routine blood pressure screening in adults. We excluded letters, editorials, and studies of pregnant and/or pre-eclamptic patients, children, and patients with specific conditions (e.g. diabetes). We identified 14 original, English language studies that included cost outcomes and compared two or more modalities. ABPM was found to be cost saving for diagnostic confirmation following an elevated CBP in six studies. Three of four studies found that adding HBPM to an elevated CBP was also cost-effective. Existing evidence supports the cost-effectiveness of incorporating HBPM or ABPM after an initial CBP-based diagnosis of hypertension. Future research should focus on their implementation in clinical practice, long-term economic values, and potential roles in identifying masked hypertension.

  12. Real world costs and cost-effectiveness of Rituximab for diffuse large B-cell lymphoma patients: a population-based analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khor, Sara; Beca, Jaclyn; Krahn, Murray; Hodgson, David; Lee, Linda; Crump, Michael; Bremner, Karen E; Luo, Jin; Mamdani, Muhammad; Bell, Chaim M; Sawka, Carol; Gavura, Scott; Sullivan, Terrence; Trudeau, Maureen; Peacock, Stuart; Hoch, Jeffrey S

    2014-08-12

    Current treatment of diffuse-large-B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) includes rituximab, an expensive drug, combined with cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisone (CHOP) chemotherapy. Economic models have predicted rituximab plus CHOP (RCHOP) to be a cost-effective alternative to CHOP alone as first-line treatment of DLBCL, but it remains unclear what its real-world costs and cost-effectiveness are in routine clinical practice. We performed a population-based retrospective cohort study from 1997 to 2007, using linked administrative databases in Ontario, Canada, to evaluate the costs and cost-effectiveness of RCHOP compared to CHOP alone. A historical control cohort (n = 1,099) with DLBCL who received CHOP before rituximab approval was hard-matched on age and treatment intensity and then propensity-score matched on sex, comorbidity, and histology to 1,099 RCHOP patients. All costs and outcomes were adjusted for censoring using the inverse probability weighting method. The main outcome measure was incremental cost per life-year gained (LYG). Rituximab was associated with a life expectancy increase of 3.2 months over 5 years at an additional cost of $16,298, corresponding to an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of $61,984 (95% CI $34,087-$135,890) per LYG. The probability of being cost-effective was 90% if the willingness-to-pay threshold was $100,000/LYG. The cost-effectiveness ratio was most favourable for patients less than 60 years old ($31,800/LYG) but increased to $80,600/LYG for patients 60-79 years old and $110,100/LYG for patients ≥ 80 years old. We found that post-market survival benefits of rituximab are similar to or lower than those reported in clinical trials, while the costs, incremental costs and cost-effectiveness ratios are higher than in published economic models and differ by age. Our results showed that the addition of rituximab to standard CHOP chemotherapy was associated with improvement in survival but at a higher cost, and was

  13. Renewable portfolio standards and cost-effective energy-efficiency investment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mahone, A.; Woo, C.K.; Williams, J.; Horowitz, I.

    2009-01-01

    Renewable portfolio standards (RPSs) and mandates to invest in cost-effective energy efficiency (EE) are increasingly popular policy tools to combat climate change and dependence on fossil fuels. These supply-side and demand-side policies, however, are often uncoordinated. Using California as a case in point, this paper demonstrates that states could improve resource allocation if these two policies were coordinated by incorporating renewable-energy procurement cost into the cost-effectiveness determination for EE investment. In particular, if renewable energy is relatively expensive when compared to conventional energy, increasing the RPS target raises the cost-effective level of EE investment

  14. Cost-effectiveness assessment in outpatient sinonasal surgery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mortuaire, G; Theis, D; Fackeure, R; Chevalier, D; Gengler, I

    2018-02-01

    To assess the cost-effectiveness of outpatient sinonasal surgery in terms of clinical efficacy and control of expenses. A retrospective study was conducted from January 2014 to January 2016. Patients scheduled for outpatient sinonasal surgery were systematically included. Clinical data were extracted from surgical and anesthesiology computer files. The cost accounting methods applied in our institution were used to evaluate logistic and technical costs. The standardized hospital fees rating system based on hospital stay and severity in diagnosis-related groups (Groupes homogènes de séjours: GHS) was used to estimate institutional revenue. Over 2years, 927 outpatient surgical procedures were performed. The crossover rate to conventional hospital admission was 2.9%. In a day-1 telephone interview, 85% of patients were very satisfied with the procedure. All outpatient cases showed significantly lower costs than estimated for conventional management with overnight admission, while hospital revenue did not differ between the two. This study confirmed the efficacy of outpatient surgery in this indication. Lower costs could allow savings for the health system by readjusting the rating for the procedure. More precise assessment of cost-effectiveness will require more fine-grained studies based on micro costing at hospital level and assessment of impact on conventional surgical activity and post-discharge community care. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

  15. Cost effectiveness of surveillance for GI cancers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Omidvari, Amir-Houshang; Meester, Reinier G S; Lansdorp-Vogelaar, Iris

    2016-12-01

    Gastrointestinal (GI) diseases are among the leading causes of death in the world. To reduce the burden of GI diseases, surveillance is recommended for some diseases, including for patients with inflammatory bowel diseases, Barrett's oesophagus, precancerous gastric lesions, colorectal adenoma, and pancreatic neoplasms. This review aims to provide an overview of the evidence on cost-effectiveness of surveillance of individuals with GI conditions predisposing them to cancer, specifically focussing on the aforementioned conditions. We searched the literature and reviewed 21 studies. Despite heterogeneity of studies in terms of settings, study populations, surveillance strategies and outcomes, most reviewed studies suggested at least some surveillance of patients with these GI conditions to be cost-effective. For some high-risk conditions frequent surveillance with 3-month intervals was warranted, while for other conditions, surveillance may only be cost-effective every 10 years. Further studies based on more robust effectiveness evidence are needed to inform and optimise surveillance programmes for GI cancers. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. The Cost-Effectiveness of Low-Cost Essential Antihypertensive Medicines for Hypertension Control in China: A Modelling Study.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dongfeng Gu

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available Hypertension is China's leading cardiovascular disease risk factor. Improved hypertension control in China would result in result in enormous health gains in the world's largest population. A computer simulation model projected the cost-effectiveness of hypertension treatment in Chinese adults, assuming a range of essential medicines list drug costs.The Cardiovascular Disease Policy Model-China, a Markov-style computer simulation model, simulated hypertension screening, essential medicines program implementation, hypertension control program administration, drug treatment and monitoring costs, disease-related costs, and quality-adjusted life years (QALYs gained by preventing cardiovascular disease or lost because of drug side effects in untreated hypertensive adults aged 35-84 y over 2015-2025. Cost-effectiveness was assessed in cardiovascular disease patients (secondary prevention and for two blood pressure ranges in primary prevention (stage one, 140-159/90-99 mm Hg; stage two, ≥160/≥100 mm Hg. Treatment of isolated systolic hypertension and combined systolic and diastolic hypertension were modeled as a reduction in systolic blood pressure; treatment of isolated diastolic hypertension was modeled as a reduction in diastolic blood pressure. One-way and probabilistic sensitivity analyses explored ranges of antihypertensive drug effectiveness and costs, monitoring frequency, medication adherence, side effect severity, background hypertension prevalence, antihypertensive medication treatment, case fatality, incidence and prevalence, and cardiovascular disease treatment costs. Median antihypertensive costs from Shanghai and Yunnan province were entered into the model in order to estimate the effects of very low and high drug prices. Incremental cost-effectiveness ratios less than the per capita gross domestic product of China (11,900 international dollars [Int$] in 2015 were considered cost-effective. Treating hypertensive adults with prior

  17. Cost-Effectiveness Analysis of the Use of Probiotics for the Prevention of Clostridium difficile-Associated Diarrhea in a Provincial Healthcare System.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leal, Jenine R; Heitman, Steven J; Conly, John M; Henderson, Elizabeth A; Manns, Braden J

    2016-09-01

    OBJECTIVE To conduct a full economic evaluation assessing the costs and consequences related to probiotic use for the primary prevention of Clostridium difficile-associated diarrhea (CDAD). DESIGN Cost-effectiveness analysis using decision analytic modeling. METHODS A cost-effectiveness analysis was used to evaluate the risk of CDAD and the costs of receiving oral probiotics versus not over a time horizon of 30 days. The target population modeled was all adult inpatients receiving any therapeutic course of antibiotics from a publicly funded healthcare system perspective. Effectiveness estimates were based on a recent systematic review of probiotics for the primary prevention of CDAD. Additional estimates came from local data and the literature. Sensitivity analyses were conducted to assess how plausible changes in variables impacted the results. RESULTS Treatment with oral probiotics led to direct costs of CDN $24 per course of treatment per patient. On average, patients treated with oral probiotics had a lower overall cost compared with usual care (CDN $327 vs $845). The risk of CDAD was reduced from 5.5% in those not receiving oral probiotics to 2% in those receiving oral probiotics. These results were robust to plausible variation in all estimates. CONCLUSIONS Oral probiotics as a preventive strategy for CDAD resulted in a lower risk of CDAD as well as cost-savings. The cost-savings may be greater in other healthcare systems that experience a higher incidence and cost associated with CDAD. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2016;37:1079-1086.

  18. Distributional cost-effectiveness analysis in low- and middle-income countries: illustrative example of rotavirus vaccination in Ethiopia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dawkins, Bryony R; Mirelman, Andrew J; Asaria, Miqdad; Johansson, Kjell Arne; Cookson, Richard A

    2018-04-01

    Reducing health inequality is a major policy concern for low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) on the path to universal health coverage. However, health inequality impacts are rarely quantified in cost-effectiveness analyses of health programmes. Distributional cost-effectiveness analysis (DCEA) is a method developed to analyse the expected social distributions of costs and health benefits, and the potential trade-offs that may exist between maximising total health and reducing health inequality. This is the first paper to show how DCEA can be applied in LMICs. Using the introduction of rotavirus vaccination in Ethiopia as an illustrative example, we analyse a hypothetical re-designed vaccination programme, which invests additional resources into vaccine delivery in rural areas, and compare this with the standard programme currently implemented in Ethiopia. We show that the re-designed programme has an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of US$69 per health-adjusted life year (HALY) compared with the standard programme. This is potentially cost-ineffective when compared with current estimates of health opportunity cost in Ethiopia. However, rural populations are typically less wealthy than urban populations and experience poorer lifetime health. Prioritising such populations can thus be seen as being equitable. We analyse the trade-off between cost-effectiveness and equity using the Atkinson inequality aversion parameter, ε, representing the decision maker's strength of concern for reducing health inequality. We find that the more equitable programme would be considered worthwhile by a decision maker whose inequality concern is greater than ε = 5.66, which at current levels of health inequality in Ethiopia implies that health gains are weighted at least 3.86 times more highly in the poorest compared with the richest wealth quintile group. We explore the sensitivity of this conclusion to a range of assumptions and cost-per-HALY threshold values, to

  19. Effects of slim holes on hydrothermal exploration costs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Entingh, D.; Petty, S.

    1992-01-01

    This paper estimates hydrothermal exploration costs and the effects that using slim holes could have on those costs using a computer code developed for the US-DOE. The primary goal of exploration is to generate decision driving information about particular geothermal reservoirs. Compared to today's exploration strategies, the main effect of using slim holes would be to reduce the cost of exploration by about 40 percent. Slim hole exploration does not reduce the overall cost of electricity by much; however, the cost burden is shifted later in the project when outside financing is more likely. The reduced costs of slim holes may also encourage developers to drill more holes that better characterize the reservoir, thus reducing long term reservoir risk. The cost of power could then be cut as much as six percent and project financial risks related to reservoir uncertainties could be reduced by up to one quarter. In order to realize these improvements, the amount of reservoir information recovered from small diameter bore holes needs to be significantly increased

  20. Cost-effectiveness of open versus arthroscopic rotator cuff repair.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Adla, Deepthi N; Rowsell, Mark; Pandey, Radhakant

    2010-03-01

    Economic evaluation of surgical procedures is necessary in view of more expensive newer techniques emerging in an increasingly cost-conscious health care environment. This study compares the cost-effectiveness of open rotator cuff repair with arthroscopic repair for moderately size tears. This was a prospective study of 30 consecutive patients, of whom 15 had an arthroscopic repair and 15 had an open procedure. Clinical effectiveness was assessed using Oxford and Constant shoulder scores. Costs were estimated from departmental and hospital financial data. At last follow-up, no difference Oxford and Constant shoulder scores was noted between the 2 methods of repair. There was no significant difference between the groups in the cost of time in the operating theater, inpatient time, amount of postoperative analgesia, number of postoperative outpatient visits, physiotherapy costs, and time off work. The incremental cost of each arthroscopic rotator cuff repair was pound675 ($1248.75) more than the open procedure. This was mainly in the area of direct health care costs, instrumentation in particular. Health care policy makers are increasingly demanding evidence of cost-effectiveness of a procedure. This study showed both methods of repair provide equivalent clinical results. Open cuff repair is more cost-effective than arthroscopic repair and is likely to have lower cost-utility ratio. In addition, the tariff for the arthroscopic procedure in some health care systems is same as open repair. Copyright 2010 Journal of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery Board of Trustees. Published by Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

  1. Cost-effectiveness of Intensive Blood Pressure Management

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Richman, Ilana B; Fairley, Michael; Jørgensen, Mads Emil

    2016-01-01

    Importance: Among high-risk patients with hypertension, targeting a systolic blood pressure of 120 mm Hg reduces cardiovascular morbidity and mortality compared with a higher target. However, intensive blood pressure management incurs additional costs from treatment and from adverse events......-effectiveness of intensive blood pressure management among 68-year-old high-risk adults with hypertension but not diabetes. We used the Systolic Blood Pressure Intervention Trial (SPRINT) to estimate treatment effects and adverse event rates. We used Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Life Tables to project age...... and accrued $155 261 in lifetime costs, while intensive management yielded 10.5 QALYs and accrued $176 584 in costs. Intensive blood pressure management cost $23 777 per QALY gained. In a sensitivity analysis, serious adverse events would need to occur at 3 times the rate observed in SPRINT and be 3 times...

  2. Modeling the cost-effectiveness of health care systems for alcohol use disorders: how implementation of eHealth interventions improves cost-effectiveness

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Smit, Filip; Lokkerbol, Joran; Riper, Heleen; Majo, Maria Cristina; Boon, Brigitte; Blankers, Matthijs

    2011-01-01

    Informing policy decisions about the cost-effectiveness of health care systems (ie, packages of clinical interventions) is probably best done using a modeling approach. To this end, an alcohol model (ALCMOD) was developed. The aim of ALCMOD is to estimate the cost-effectiveness of competing health

  3. What is known about the cost-effectiveness of orphan drugs? Evidence from cost-utility analyses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Picavet, E; Cassiman, D; Simoens, S

    2015-06-01

    In times of financial and economic hardship, governments are looking to contain pharmaceutical expenditure by focusing on cost-effective drugs. Because of their high prices and difficulties in demonstrating effectiveness in small patient populations, orphan drugs are often perceived as not able to meet traditional reimbursement threshold value for money. The aim of this study was to provide an overview of the available evidence on the cost-effectiveness of orphan drugs. All orphan drugs listed as authorized on the website of the European Medicines Agency on 21 November 2013 were included in the analysis. Cost-utility analyses (CUAs) were identified by searching the Tufts Medical Center Cost-Effectiveness Analysis Registry and Embase. For each CUA, a number of variables were collected. The search identified 23 articles on the Tufts registry and 167 articles on Embase. The final analysis included 45 CUAs and 61 incremental cost-utility ratios (ICURs) for 19 orphan drugs. Of all ICURS, 16·3% were related to dominant drugs (i.e. more effective and less expensive than the comparator), 70·5% were related to drugs that are more effective, but at a higher cost, and 13·1% were related to dominated drugs (i.e. less effective and more expensive than the comparator). The median overall ICUR was €40 242 per quality-adjusted life year (QALY) with a minimum ICUR of €6311/QALY and a maximum ICUR of €974,917/QALY. This study demonstrates that orphan drugs can meet traditional reimbursement thresholds. Considering a threshold of £30,000/QALY, in this study, ten (52·6%) of a total of 19 orphan drugs for which data were available meet the threshold. As much as fifteen orphan drugs (78·9%) are eligible for reimbursement if a threshold of €80,000/QALY is considered. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  4. Integrated cost-effectiveness analysis of agri-environmental measures for water quality.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Balana, Bedru B; Jackson-Blake, Leah; Martin-Ortega, Julia; Dunn, Sarah

    2015-09-15

    This paper presents an application of integrated methodological approach for identifying cost-effective combinations of agri-environmental measures to achieve water quality targets. The methodological approach involves linking hydro-chemical modelling with economic costs of mitigation measures. The utility of the approach was explored for the River Dee catchment in North East Scotland, examining the cost-effectiveness of mitigation measures for nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) pollutants. In-stream nitrate concentration was modelled using the STREAM-N and phosphorus using INCA-P model. Both models were first run for baseline conditions and then their effectiveness for changes in land management was simulated. Costs were based on farm income foregone, capital and operational expenditures. The costs and effects data were integrated using 'Risk Solver Platform' optimization in excel to produce the most cost-effective combination of measures by which target nutrient reductions could be attained at a minimum economic cost. The analysis identified different combination of measures as most cost-effective for the two pollutants. An important aspect of this paper is integration of model-based effectiveness estimates with economic cost of measures for cost-effectiveness analysis of land and water management options. The methodological approach developed is not limited to the two pollutants and the selected agri-environmental measures considered in the paper; the approach can be adapted to the cost-effectiveness analysis of any catchment-scale environmental management options. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  5. Effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of dialectical behaviour therapy for self-harming patients with personality disorder: a pragmatic randomised controlled trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Priebe, Stefan; Bhatti, Nyla; Barnicot, Kirsten; Bremner, Stephen; Gaglia, Amy; Katsakou, Christina; Molosankwe, Iris; McCrone, Paul; Zinkler, Martin

    2012-01-01

    A primary goal of dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT) is to reduce self-harm, but findings from empirical studies are inconclusive. The aim of this study was to assess the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of DBT in reducing self-harm in patients with personality disorder. Participants with a personality disorder and at least 5 days of self-harm in the previous year were randomised to receive 12 months of either DBT or treatment as usual (TAU). The primary outcome was the frequency of days with self-harm; secondary outcomes included borderline personality disorder symptoms, general psychiatric symptoms, subjective quality of life, and costs of care. Forty patients each were randomised to DBT and TAU. In an intention-to-treat analysis, there was a statistically significant treatment by time interaction for self-harm (incidence rate ratio 0.91, 95% CI 0.89-0.92, p self-harm decreased by 9% relative to TAU. There was no evidence of differences on any secondary outcomes. The economic analysis revealed a total cost of a mean of 5,685 GBP (6,786 EUR) in DBT compared to a mean of 3,754 GBP (4,481 EUR) in TAU, but the difference was not significant (95% CI -603 to 4,599 GBP). Forty-eight per cent of patients completed DBT. They had a greater reduction in self-harm compared to dropouts (incidence rate ratio 0.78, 95% CI 0.76-0.80, p self-harm in patients with personality disorder, possibly incurring higher total treatment costs. The effect is stronger in those who complete treatment. Future research should explore how to improve treatment adherence. Copyright © 2012 S. Karger AG, Basel.

  6. Cost-effectiveness of screening for asymptomatic carotid atherosclerotic disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Derdeyn, C P; Powers, W J

    1996-11-01

    The value of screening for asymptomatic carotid stenosis has become an important issue with the recently reported beneficial effect of endarterectomy. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of using Doppler ultrasound as a screening tool to select subjects for arteriography and subsequent surgery. A computer model was developed to simulate the cost-effectiveness of screening a cohort of 1000 men during a 20-year period. The primary outcome measure was incremental present-value dollar expenditures for screening and treatment per incremental present-value quality-adjusted life-year (QALY) saved. Estimates of disease prevalence and arteriographic and surgical complication rates were obtained from the literature. Probabilities of stroke and death with surgical and medical treatment were obtained from published clinical trials. Doppler ultrasound sensitivity and specificity were obtained through review of local experience. Estimates of costs were obtained from local Medicare reimbursement data. A one-time screening program of a population with a high prevalence (20%) of > or = 60% stenosis cost $35130 per incremental QALY gained. Decreased surgical benefit or increased annual discount rate was detrimental, resulting in lost QALYs. Annual screening cost $457773 per incremental QALY gained. In a low-prevalence (4%) population, one-time screening cost $52588 per QALY gained, while annual screening was detrimental. The cost-effectiveness of a one-time screening program for an asymptomatic population with a high prevalence of carotid stenosis may be cost-effective. Annual screening is detrimental. The most sensitive variables in this simulation model were long-term stroke risk reduction after surgery and annual discount rate for accumulated costs and QALYs.

  7. The cost-effectiveness of two strategies for vaccinating US veterans with hepatitis C virus infection against hepatitis A and hepatitis B viruses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jakiche, Rita; Borrego, Matthew E; Raisch, Dennis W; Gupchup, Gireesh V; Pai, Manjunath A; Jakiche, Antoine

    2007-01-01

    Although hepatitis A and B vaccinations are recommended for patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV), the ideal vaccination strategy has not been determined. Our objective was to model the cost-effectiveness of two strategies for vaccinating patients with HCV infection against hepatitis A (HAV) and hepatitis B (HBV) viruses. The strategies evaluated were: universal vaccination with the combined HAV and HBV vaccine, and selective vaccination based on immunity determined by blood testing. A decision tree model was constructed to compare the cost-effectiveness of the two vaccination strategies from the New Mexico Veterans Affairs Health Care System (NMVAHCS) perspective. A retrospective review of all HCV patients (2517 subjects) at the NMVAHCS was performed to extract prevalence of immunity to HAV and HBV, and prevalence of decompensated liver disease. Literature review was performed to obtain other probabilities for the model. Only direct medical costs were considered; the effectiveness measure was the number of patients immune to both HAV and HBV. Sensitivity analyses were performed to test robustness of the results to changes in input variables. All costs were in 2004 US dollars. The selective strategy was less costly but less effective, with a cost-effectiveness ratio of 105 dollars per patient immune to HAV and HBV. The universal strategy was more effective but more expensive with a cost-effectiveness ratio of 112 dollars per patient immune to HAV and HBV. Compared with the selective strategy, universal strategy was associated with an incremental cost-effectiveness (ICE) ratio of 154 dollars per additional patient immune to HAV and HBV. The universal strategy would become more cost-effective if 1) the cost of combined vaccine was reduced to less than 30.75 dollars (9.7% reduction), 2) the cost of HBV vaccine increased to greater than 34.50 dollars (25% increase), 3) the cost of blood tests for immunity increased to more than 25.25 dollars (23% increase), or

  8. Assessing Cost-Effectiveness in Obesity (ACE-Obesity: an overview of the ACE approach, economic methods and cost results

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Swinburn Boyd

    2009-11-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The aim of the ACE-Obesity study was to determine the economic credentials of interventions which aim to prevent unhealthy weight gain in children and adolescents. We have reported elsewhere on the modelled effectiveness of 13 obesity prevention interventions in children. In this paper, we report on the cost results and associated methods together with the innovative approach to priority setting that underpins the ACE-Obesity study. Methods The Assessing Cost Effectiveness (ACE approach combines technical rigour with 'due process' to facilitate evidence-based policy analysis. Technical rigour was achieved through use of standardised evaluation methods, a research team that assembles best available evidence and extensive uncertainty analysis. Cost estimates were based on pathway analysis, with resource usage estimated for the interventions and their 'current practice' comparator, as well as associated cost offsets. Due process was achieved through involvement of stakeholders, consensus decisions informed by briefing papers and 2nd stage filter analysis that captures broader factors that influence policy judgements in addition to cost-effectiveness results. The 2nd stage filters agreed by stakeholders were 'equity', 'strength of the evidence', 'feasibility of implementation', 'acceptability to stakeholders', 'sustainability' and 'potential for side-effects'. Results The intervention costs varied considerably, both in absolute terms (from cost saving [6 interventions] to in excess of AUD50m per annum and when expressed as a 'cost per child' estimate (from Conclusion The use of consistent methods enables valid comparison of potential intervention costs and cost-offsets for each of the interventions. ACE-Obesity informs policy-makers about cost-effectiveness, health impact, affordability and 2nd stage filters for important options for preventing unhealthy weight gain in children. In related articles cost-effectiveness results and

  9. Issues in assessing the cost-effectiveness of coordinated DSM programs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hill, L.J.; Brown, M.A.

    1995-01-01

    Coordinated demand-side management (DSM) programs, co-administered by government agencies and electric and gas utilities, are likely to grow in importance in the coming years. Because of the unique features of these types of DSM programs, special care must be taken in assessing their cost-effectiveness. In this paper, we discuss these features, suggest how standard cost-effectiveness measures must be adapted to accommodate them, and show how important these adaptations are in assessing the cost-effectiveness of coordinated programs. At first, we use a least-cost, financial approach. The discussion indicates that failure to account properly for the special features of coordinated programs materially affects estimates of cost-effectiveness and, in extreme cases, may lead to rejection of otherwise cost-effective programs. Then extending the analysis to include economic factors, we speculate that most types of coordinated programs are more attractive than when evaluated on a financial basis. (author)

  10. [Cost-effectiveness in Dutch mental health care: future because of ROM?

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Agthoven, M. van; Kolk, A. van der; Knegtering, H.; Delespaul, P.A.; Arends, J.; Jeurissen, P.P.T.; Krabbe, P.F.M.; Huijsman, R.; Luijk, R.; Beurs, E. de; Hakkaart-van Roijen, L.; Bruggeman, R.

    2015-01-01

    BACKGROUND: The document reporting Dutch mental health care negotiations for 2014 - 2017 calls for a cost decrease based on cost-effectiveness. Thanks to rom, the Dutch mental health care seems well prepared for cost-effectiveness research.
    AIM: Evaluate how valid cost-effectiveness research

  11. Can Economic Model Transparency Improve Provider Interpretation of Cost-effectiveness Analysis? Evaluating Tradeoffs Presented by the Second Panel on Cost-effectiveness in Health and Medicine.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Padula, William V; McQueen, Robert Brett; Pronovost, Peter J

    2017-11-01

    The Second Panel on Cost-Effectiveness in Health and Medicine convened on December 7, 2016 at the National Academy of Medicine to disseminate their recommendations for conduct, methodological practices, and reporting of cost-effectiveness analyses (CEAs). Following its summary, panel proceedings included lengthy discussions including the field's struggle to disseminate findings efficiently through peer-reviewed literature to target audiences. With editors of several medical and outcomes research journals in attendance, there was consensus that findings of cost-effectiveness analyses do not effectively reach other researchers or health care providers. The audience members suggested several solutions including providing additional training to clinicians in cost-effectiveness research and requiring that cost-effectiveness models are made publicly available. However, there remains the questions of whether making economic modelers' work open-access through journals is fair under the defense that these models remain one's own intellectual property, or whether journals can properly manage the peer-review process specifically for cost-effectiveness analyses. In this article, we elaborate on these issues and provide some suggested solutions that may increase the dissemination and application of cost-effectiveness literature to reach its intended audiences and ultimately benefit the patient. Ultimately, it is our combined view as economic modelers and clinicians that cost-effectiveness results need to reach the clinician to improve the efficiency of medical practice, but that open-access models do not improve clinician access or interpretation of the economics of medicine.

  12. Unit Cost Compendium Calculations

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — The Unit Cost Compendium (UCC) Calculations raw data set was designed to provide for greater accuracy and consistency in the use of unit costs across the USEPA...

  13. Cost-effectiveness analysis of different embryo transfer strategies in England.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dixon, S; Faghih Nasiri, F; Ledger, W L; Lenton, E A; Duenas, A; Sutcliffe, P; Chilcott, J B

    2008-05-01

    The objective of this study was to assess the cost-effectiveness of different embryo transfer strategies for a single cycle when two embryos are available, and taking the NHS cost perspective. Cost-effectiveness model. Five in vitro fertilisation (IVF) centres in England between 2003/04 and 2004/05. Women with two embryos available for transfer in three age groups (Costs and adverse outcomes are estimated up to 5 years after the birth. Incremental cost per live birth was calculated for different embryo transfer strategies and for three separate age groups: less than 30, 30-35 and 36-39 years. Premature birth, neonatal intensive care unit admissions and days, cerebral palsy and incremental cost-effectiveness ratios. Single fresh embryo transfer (SET) plus frozen single embryo transfer (fzSET) is the more costly in terms of IVF costs, but the lower rates of multiple births mean that in terms of total costs, it is less costly than double embryo transfer (DET). Adverse events increase when moving from SET to SET+fzSET to DET. The probability of SET+fzSET being cost-effective decreases with age. When SET is included in the analysis, SET+fzSET no longer becomes a cost-effective option at any threshold value for all age groups studied. The analyses show that the choice of embryo transfer strategy is a function of four factors: the age of the mother, the relevance of the SET option, the value placed on a live birth and the relative importance placed on adverse outcomes. For each patient group, the choice of strategy is a trade-off between the value placed on a live birth and cost.

  14. Better Informing Decision Making with Multiple Outcomes Cost-Effectiveness Analysis under Uncertainty in Cost-Disutility Space

    Science.gov (United States)

    McCaffrey, Nikki; Agar, Meera; Harlum, Janeane; Karnon, Jonathon; Currow, David; Eckermann, Simon

    2015-01-01

    Introduction Comparing multiple, diverse outcomes with cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA) is important, yet challenging in areas like palliative care where domains are unamenable to integration with survival. Generic multi-attribute utility values exclude important domains and non-health outcomes, while partial analyses—where outcomes are considered separately, with their joint relationship under uncertainty ignored—lead to incorrect inference regarding preferred strategies. Objective The objective of this paper is to consider whether such decision making can be better informed with alternative presentation and summary measures, extending methods previously shown to have advantages in multiple strategy comparison. Methods Multiple outcomes CEA of a home-based palliative care model (PEACH) relative to usual care is undertaken in cost disutility (CDU) space and compared with analysis on the cost-effectiveness plane. Summary measures developed for comparing strategies across potential threshold values for multiple outcomes include: expected net loss (ENL) planes quantifying differences in expected net benefit; the ENL contour identifying preferred strategies minimising ENL and their expected value of perfect information; and cost-effectiveness acceptability planes showing probability of strategies minimising ENL. Results Conventional analysis suggests PEACH is cost-effective when the threshold value per additional day at home ( 1) exceeds $1,068 or dominated by usual care when only the proportion of home deaths is considered. In contrast, neither alternative dominate in CDU space where cost and outcomes are jointly considered, with the optimal strategy depending on threshold values. For example, PEACH minimises ENL when 1=$2,000 and 2=$2,000 (threshold value for dying at home), with a 51.6% chance of PEACH being cost-effective. Conclusion Comparison in CDU space and associated summary measures have distinct advantages to multiple domain comparisons, aiding

  15. Are labour-intensive efforts to prevent pressure ulcers cost-effective?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mathiesen, Anne Sofie Mølbak; Nørgaard, Kamilla; Andersen, Marie Frederikke Bruun; Møller, Klaus Meyer; Ehlers, Lars Holger

    2013-10-01

    Pressure ulcers are a major problem in Danish healthcare with a prevalence of 13-43% among hospitalized patients. The associated costs to the Danish Health Care Sector are estimated to be €174.5 million annually. In 2010, The Danish Society for Patient Safety introduced the Pressure Ulcer Bundle (PUB) in order to reduce hospital-acquired pressure ulcers by a minimum of 50% in five hospitals. The PUB consists of evidence-based preventive initiatives implemented by ward staff using the Model for Improvement. To investigate the cost-effectiveness of labour-intensive efforts to reduce pressure ulcers in the Danish Health Care Sector, comparing the PUB with standard care. A decision analytic model was constructed to assess the costs and consequences of hospital-acquired pressure ulcers during an average hospital admission in Denmark. The model inputs were based on a systematic review of clinical efficacy data combined with local cost and effectiveness data from the Thy-Mors Hospital, Denmark. A probabilistic sensitivity analysis (PSA) was conducted to assess the uncertainty. Prevention of hospital-acquired pressure ulcers by implementing labour-intensive effects according to the PUB was cost-saving and resulted in an improved effect compared to standard care. The incremental cost of the PUB was -€38.62. The incremental effects were a reduction of 9.3% prevented pressure ulcers and 0.47% prevented deaths. The PSAs confirmed the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER)'s dominance for both prevented pressure ulcers and saved lives with the PUB. This study shows that labour-intensive efforts to reduce pressure ulcers on hospital wards can be cost-effective and lead to savings in total costs of hospital and social care. The data included in the study regarding costs and effects of the PUB in Denmark were based on preliminary findings from a pilot study at Thy-Mors Hospital and literature.

  16. Cost-effectiveness of cognitive-behavioural therapy for mental disorders: implications for public health care funding policy in Canada.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Myhr, Gail; Payne, Krista

    2006-09-01

    Publicly funded cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) for mental disorders is scarce in Canada, despite proven efficacy and guidelines recommending its use. This paper reviews published data on the economic impact of CBT to inform recommendations for current Canadian mental health care funding policy. We searched the literature for economic analyses of CBT in the treatment of mental disorders. We identified 22 health economic studies involving CBT for mood, anxiety, psychotic, and somatoform disorders. Across health care settings and patient populations, CBT alone or in combination with pharmacotherapy represented acceptable value for health dollars spent, with CBT costs offset by reduced health care use. International evidence suggests CBT is cost-effective. Greater access to CBT would likely improve outcomes and result in cost savings. Future research is warranted to evaluate the economic impact of CBT in Canada.

  17. On cost-effective communication network designing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Guo-Qiang

    2010-02-01

    How to efficiently design a communication network is a paramount task for network designing and engineering. It is, however, not a single objective optimization process as perceived by most previous researches, i.e., to maximize its transmission capacity, but a multi-objective optimization process, with lowering its cost to be another important objective. These two objectives are often contradictive in that optimizing one objective may deteriorate the other. After a deep investigation of the impact that network topology, node capability scheme and routing algorithm as well as their interplays have on the two objectives, this letter presents a systematic approach to achieve a cost-effective design by carefully choosing the three designing aspects. Only when routing algorithm and node capability scheme are elegantly chosen can BA-like scale-free networks have the potential of achieving good tradeoff between the two objectives. Random networks, on the other hand, have the built-in character for a cost-effective design, especially when other aspects cannot be determined beforehand.

  18. Cost-effectiveness of multidisciplinary care in mild to moderate chronic kidney disease in the United States: A modeling study.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eugene Lin

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available Multidisciplinary care (MDC programs have been proposed as a way to alleviate the cost and morbidity associated with chronic kidney disease (CKD in the US.We assessed the cost-effectiveness of a theoretical Medicare-based MDC program for CKD compared to usual CKD care in Medicare beneficiaries with stage 3 and 4 CKD between 45 and 84 years old in the US. The program used nephrologists, advanced practitioners, educators, dieticians, and social workers. From Medicare claims and published literature, we developed a novel deterministic Markov model for CKD progression and calibrated it to long-term risks of mortality and progression to end-stage renal disease. We then used the model to project accrued discounted costs and quality-adjusted life years (QALYs over patients' remaining lifetime. We estimated the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER of MDC, or the cost of the intervention per QALY gained. MDC added 0.23 (95% CI: 0.08, 0.42 QALYs over usual care, costing $51,285 per QALY gained (net monetary benefit of $23,100 at a threshold of $150,000 per QALY gained; 95% CI: $6,252, $44,323. In all subpopulations analyzed, ICERs ranged from $42,663 to $72,432 per QALY gained. MDC was generally more cost-effective in patients with higher urine albumin excretion. Although ICERs were higher in younger patients, MDC could yield greater improvements in health in younger than older patients. MDC remained cost-effective when we decreased its effectiveness to 25% of the base case or increased the cost 5-fold. The program costed less than $70,000 per QALY in 95% of probabilistic sensitivity analyses and less than $87,500 per QALY in 99% of analyses. Limitations of our study include its theoretical nature and being less generalizable to populations at low risk for progression to ESRD. We did not study the potential impact of MDC on hospitalization (cardiovascular or other.Our model estimates that a Medicare-funded MDC program could reduce the need for

  19. Cost-effectiveness of multidisciplinary care in mild to moderate chronic kidney disease in the United States: A modeling study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Malcolm, Elizabeth; Goldhaber-Fiebert, Jeremy D.

    2018-01-01

    Background Multidisciplinary care (MDC) programs have been proposed as a way to alleviate the cost and morbidity associated with chronic kidney disease (CKD) in the US. Methods and findings We assessed the cost-effectiveness of a theoretical Medicare-based MDC program for CKD compared to usual CKD care in Medicare beneficiaries with stage 3 and 4 CKD between 45 and 84 years old in the US. The program used nephrologists, advanced practitioners, educators, dieticians, and social workers. From Medicare claims and published literature, we developed a novel deterministic Markov model for CKD progression and calibrated it to long-term risks of mortality and progression to end-stage renal disease. We then used the model to project accrued discounted costs and quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) over patients’ remaining lifetime. We estimated the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) of MDC, or the cost of the intervention per QALY gained. MDC added 0.23 (95% CI: 0.08, 0.42) QALYs over usual care, costing $51,285 per QALY gained (net monetary benefit of $23,100 at a threshold of $150,000 per QALY gained; 95% CI: $6,252, $44,323). In all subpopulations analyzed, ICERs ranged from $42,663 to $72,432 per QALY gained. MDC was generally more cost-effective in patients with higher urine albumin excretion. Although ICERs were higher in younger patients, MDC could yield greater improvements in health in younger than older patients. MDC remained cost-effective when we decreased its effectiveness to 25% of the base case or increased the cost 5-fold. The program costed less than $70,000 per QALY in 95% of probabilistic sensitivity analyses and less than $87,500 per QALY in 99% of analyses. Limitations of our study include its theoretical nature and being less generalizable to populations at low risk for progression to ESRD. We did not study the potential impact of MDC on hospitalization (cardiovascular or other). Conclusions Our model estimates that a Medicare-funded MDC

  20. Cost-effectiveness of "golden mustard" for treating vitamin A deficiency in India.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jeffrey Chow

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Vitamin A deficiency (VAD is an important nutritional problem in India, resulting in an increased risk of severe morbidity and mortality. Periodic, high-dose vitamin A supplementation is the WHO-recommended method to prevent VAD, since a single dose can compensate for reduced dietary intake or increased need over a period of several months. However, in India only 34 percent of targeted children currently receive the two doses per year, and new strategies are urgently needed. METHODOLOGY: Recent advancements in biotechnology permit alternative strategies for increasing the vitamin A content of common foods. Mustard (Brassica juncea, which is consumed widely in the form of oil by VAD populations, can be genetically modified to express high levels of beta-carotene, a precursor to vitamin A. Using estimates for consumption, we compare predicted costs and benefits of genetically modified (GM fortification of mustard seed with high-dose vitamin A supplementation and industrial fortification of mustard oil during processing to alleviate VAD by calculating the avertable health burden in terms of disability-adjusted life years (DALY. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We found that all three interventions potentially avert significant numbers of DALYs and deaths. Expanding vitamin A supplementation to all areas was the least costly intervention, at $23-$50 per DALY averted and $1,000-$6,100 per death averted, though cost-effectiveness varied with prevailing health subcenter coverage. GM fortification could avert 5 million-6 million more DALYs and 8,000-46,000 more deaths, mainly because it would benefit the entire population and not just children. However, the costs associated with GM fortification were nearly five times those of supplementation. Industrial fortification was dominated by both GM fortification and supplementation. The cost-effectiveness ratio of each intervention decreased with the prevalence of VAD and was sensitive to the efficacy rate of

  1. Whether and under what conditions FDG-PET might be cost-effective in evaluating solitary pulmonary nodules depicted on lung cancer screening in Japan

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tsushima, Yoshito; Aoki, Jun; Endo, Keigo

    2003-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to determine whether and under what conditions fluorine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) may be cost-effective in evaluating solitary pulmonary nodules depicted on lung cancer screening in Japan. Three decision models for differentiating lung cancer from benign nodules were compared: CT alone, PET alone, and CT plus PET. The various paths of each strategy were dependent on variables determined from a review of the medical literature. Costs were based on Japanese health insurance. The prevalence of lung cancer among solitary pulmonary nodules detected on lung cancer screening was less than 10%. For this prevalence, the CT-plus-PET model was the cost-effective alternative to the CT-alone model (cost savings were 64,000 yen per patient) and provided greater accuracy (0.90 vs. 0.84). Both of these effects were the result of reducing the number of candidates who undergo unnecessary CT-guided or bronchofiberscopic biopsies or thoracotomy for a benign pulmonary nodule. The CT-plus-PET strategy is accurate and cost-effective for the characterization of solitary pulmonary nodules detected on lung cancer screening in Japan. (author)

  2. The effect of business characteristics on tax compliance costs

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Popi Fauziati

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available Compliance fee is the cost incurred by the taxpayers in fulfilling the taxation requirements imposed on the taxpayers by the law and the authority of the country. The company expects to incur the minimum tax costs associated with fulfilling its tax obligations. Research on the influence of business characteristics to tax compliance cost is still scanty. This research examined the effect of business characteristics (age, size, sector and risk management on tax compliance costs. The research design adopted in this study is survey design. The questionnaires were distributed to the members of De-partment of Cooperatives and Micro Small-Medium Enterprises in Padang City. The non-probability sampling was used as the sampling method and 92 respondents participated in this re-search. The data obtained were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS. The research findings indicate that age, size and sector have no effect on tax compliance costs while risk management has an effect on tax compliance costs.

  3. Costs and cost effectiveness of different strategies for chlamydia screening and partner notification: an economic and mathematical modelling study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Turner, Katy; Adams, Elisabeth; Grant, Arabella; Macleod, John; Bell, Gill; Clarke, Jan; Horner, Paddy

    2011-01-04

    To compare the cost, cost effectiveness, and sex equity of different intervention strategies within the English National Chlamydia Screening Programme. To develop a tool for calculating cost effectiveness of chlamydia control programmes at a local, national, or international level. An economic and mathematical modelling study with cost effectiveness analysis. Costs were restricted to those of screening and partner notification from the perspective of the NHS and excluded patient costs, the costs of reinfection, and costs of complications arising from initial infection. England. Population Individuals eligible for the National Chlamydia Screening Programme. Cost effectiveness of National Chlamydia Screening Programme in 2008-9 (as cost per individual tested, cost per positive diagnosis, total cost of screening, number screened, number infected, sex ratio of those tested and treated). Comparison of baseline programme with two different interventions-(i) increased coverage of primary screening in men and (ii) increased efficacy of partner notification. In 2008-9 screening was estimated to cost about £46.3m in total and £506 per infection treated. Provision for partner notification within the screening programme cost between £9 and £27 per index case, excluding treatment and testing. The model results suggest that increasing male screening coverage from 8% (baseline value) to 24% (to match female coverage) would cost an extra £22.9m and increase the cost per infection treated to £528. In contrast, increasing partner notification efficacy from 0.4 (baseline value) to 0.8 partners per index case would cost an extra £3.3m and would reduce the cost per infection diagnosed to £449. Increasing screening coverage to 24% in men would cost over six times as much as increasing partner notification to 0.8 but only treat twice as many additional infections. In the English National Chlamydia Screening Programme increasing the effectiveness of partner notification is likely

  4. ORIGINAL ARTICLES Cost-effectiveness analysis for priority-setting ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    health outcomes and wasted resources.4-5 It was found that the cost- effectiveness of South ... Priorities for Developing Countries Project was that emergency (and even some elective) ... to control air pollutants found that in South Africa the most cost- effective ..... outdoor air pollution in South Africa in 2000. S Afr Med J ...

  5. Cost-effectiveness analysis of microdose clinical trials in drug development.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yamane, Naoe; Igarashi, Ataru; Kusama, Makiko; Maeda, Kazuya; Ikeda, Toshihiko; Sugiyama, Yuichi

    2013-01-01

    Microdose (MD) clinical trials have been introduced to obtain human pharmacokinetic data early in drug development. Here we assessed the cost-effectiveness of microdose integrated drug development in a hypothetical model, as there was no such quantitative research that weighed the additional effectiveness against the additional time and/or cost. First, we calculated the cost and effectiveness (i.e., success rate) of 3 types of MD integrated drug development strategies: liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry, accelerator mass spectrometry, and positron emission tomography. Then, we analyzed the cost-effectiveness of 9 hypothetical scenarios where 100 drug candidates entering into a non-clinical toxicity study were selected by different methods as the conventional scenario without MD. In the base-case, where 70 drug candidates were selected without MD and 30 selected evenly by one of the three MD methods, incremental cost-effectiveness ratio per one additional drug approved was JPY 12.7 billion (US$ 0.159 billion), whereas the average cost-effectiveness ratio of the conventional strategy was JPY 24.4 billion, which we set as a threshold. Integrating MD in the conventional drug development was cost-effective in this model. This quantitative analytical model which allows various modifications according to each company's conditions, would be helpful for guiding decisions early in clinical development.

  6. Cost-Effectiveness of Secondary Screening Modalities for Hypertension

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Y. Claire; Koval, Alisa M.; Nakamura, Miyabi; Newman, Jonathan D.; Schwartz, Joseph E.; Stone, Patricia W.

    2014-01-01

    Background Clinic-based blood pressure (CBP) has been the default approach for diagnosing hypertension, but patients may be misclassified due to masked hypertension (false negative) or “white coat” hypertension (false positive). The incorporation of other diagnostic modalities, such as home blood pressure monitoring (HBPM) and ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM), holds promise to improve diagnostic accuracy and subsequent treatment decisions. Method We reviewed the literature on the costs and cost-effectiveness of adding HBPM and ABPM into routine blood pressure screening in adults. We excluded letters, editorials, and studies of pregnant and/or pre-eclamptic patients, children, and patients with specific conditions (e.g. diabetes). Results We identified 14 original, English language studies that included cost outcomes and compared two or more modalities. ABPM was found to be cost-saving for diagnostic confirmation following an elevated CBP in 6 studies. Three of 4 studies found that adding HBPM to an elevated CBP was also cost-effective. Conclusion Existing evidence supports the cost-effectiveness of incorporating HBPM or ABPM following an initial CBP-based diagnosis of hypertension. Future research should focus on their implementation in clinical practice, long-term economic values, and potential roles in identifying masked hypertension. PMID:23263535

  7. Mitigating costs and the preemptive effect of federal rate orders

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Darr, F.P.

    1992-01-01

    The role of federalism in the regulation of energy production is a long-standing problem. This article is divided into five parts. Following a summary of the case 'New Orleans Public Service, Inc. v. Council of New Orleans' (NOPSI) in Part I the article addresses the statutory and interpretive foundations of the filed rate doctrine described in Part II. Part III discusses the Supreme Court's extension of the doctrine into greater federal management of retail rates and introduces the reaction of the lower courts to the Supreme Court's decisions. Part IV analyzes the NOPSI exception requiring a utility to mitigate the effects of a FERC order in light of the policy distinctions inherent in the filed rate doctrine and the recognized eceptions. Part V addresses a related policy issue of the appropriate venue for challenging state orders to deny costs arising from federal orders. 153 refs

  8. Cost analysis and exploratory cost-effectiveness of youth-friendly sexual and reproductive health services in the Republic of Moldova

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kempers, J.; Ketting, E.; Lesco, G.

    2014-01-01

    BACKGROUND: Youth-friendly sexual and reproductive health services (YFHS) have high priority in many countries. Yet, little is known about the cost and cost-effectiveness of good quality YFHS in resource limited settings. This paper analyses retrospectively costs and potential cost-effectiveness of

  9. Cost-effectiveness of spinal manipulative therapy, supervised exercise, and home exercise for older adults with chronic neck pain.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leininger, Brent; McDonough, Christine; Evans, Roni; Tosteson, Tor; Tosteson, Anna N A; Bronfort, Gert

    2016-11-01

    Chronic neck pain is a prevalent and disabling condition among older adults. Despite the large burden of neck pain, little is known regarding the cost-effectiveness of commonly used treatments. This study aimed to estimate the cost-effectiveness of home exercise and advice (HEA), spinal manipulative therapy (SMT) plus HEA, and supervised rehabilitative exercise (SRE) plus HEA. Cost-effectiveness analysis conducted alongside a randomized clinical trial (RCT) was performed. A total of 241 older adults (≥65 years) with chronic mechanical neck pain comprised the patient sample. The outcome measures were direct and indirect costs, neck pain, neck disability, SF-6D-derived quality-adjusted life years (QALYs), and incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs) over a 1-year time horizon. This work was supported by grants from the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (#F32AT007507), National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (#P60AR062799), and Health Resources and Services Administration (#R18HP01425). The RCT is registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (#NCT00269308). A societal perspective was adopted for the primary analysis. A healthcare perspective was adopted as a sensitivity analysis. Cost-effectivenesswas a secondary aim of the RCT which was not powered for differences in costs or QALYs. Differences in costs and clinical outcomes were estimated using generalized estimating equations and linear mixed models, respectively. Cost-effectiveness acceptability curves were calculated to assess the uncertainty surrounding cost-effectiveness estimates. Total costs for SMT+HEA were 5% lower than HEA (mean difference: -$111; 95% confidence interval [CI] -$1,354 to $899) and 47% lower than SRE+HEA (mean difference: -$1,932; 95% CI -$2,796 to -$1,097). SMT+HEA also resulted in a greater reduction of neck pain over the year relative to HEA (0.57; 95% CI 0.23 to 0.92) and SRE+HEA (0.41; 95% CI 0.05 to 0.76). Differences in disability and

  10. Cost-effective strategies for rural community outreach, Hawaii, 2010-2011.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pellegrin, Karen L; Barbato, Anna; Holuby, R Scott; Ciarleglio, Anita E; Taniguchi, Ronald

    2014-12-11

    Three strategies designed to maximize attendance at educational sessions on chronic disease medication safety in older adults in rural areas were implemented sequentially and compared for cost-effectiveness: 1) existing community groups and events, 2) formal advertisement, and 3) employer-based outreach. Cost-effectiveness was measured by comparing overall cost per attendee recruited and number of attendees per event. The overall cost per attendee was substantially higher for the formal advertising strategy, which produced the lowest number of attendees per event. Leveraging existing community events and employers in rural areas was more cost-effective than formal advertisement for recruiting rural community members.

  11. Cost effectiveness methodology for evaluating Korean international communication system alternatives.

    OpenAIRE

    Hwang, Tae Kyun.

    1987-01-01

    Approved for public release; distribution in unlimited. Cost and Effectiveness models are developed by using of cost-effectiveness technique for fiber optic cable and satellite communication media. The models are applied to the Korean international communication problem. Alternative selection is required since the two medias different in cost and effectiveness. The major difficulties encountered were data gathering and measuring the effectiveness of the Korean international ...

  12. Cost-effectiveness of the Norwegian breast cancer screening program.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Luijt, P A; Heijnsdijk, E A M; de Koning, H J

    2017-02-15

    The Norwegian Breast Cancer Screening Programme (NBCSP) has a nation-wide coverage since 2005. All women aged 50-69 years are invited biennially for mammography screening. We evaluated breast cancer mortality reduction and performed a cost-effectiveness analysis, using our microsimulation model, calibrated to most recent data. The microsimulation model allows for the comparison of mortality and costs between a (hypothetical) situation without screening and a situation with screening. Breast cancer incidence in Norway had a steep increase in the early 1990s. We calibrated the model to simulate this increase and included recent costs for screening, diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer and travel and productivity loss. We estimate a 16% breast cancer mortality reduction for a cohort of women, invited to screening, followed over their complete lifetime. Cost-effectiveness is estimated at NOK 112,162 per QALY gained, when taking only direct medical costs into account (the cost of the buses, examinations, and invitations). We used a 3.5% annual discount rate. Cost-effectiveness estimates are substantially below the threshold of NOK 1,926,366 as recommended by the WHO guidelines. For the Norwegian population, which has been gradually exposed to screening, breast cancer mortality reduction for women exposed to screening is increasing and is estimated to rise to ∼30% in 2020 for women aged 55-80 years. The NBCSP is a highly cost-effective measure to reduce breast cancer specific mortality. We estimate a breast cancer specific mortality reduction of 16-30%, at the cost of 112,162 NOK per QALY gained. © 2016 UICC.

  13. Cost-effectiveness analysis of vaccinating children in Malawi with RTS,S vaccines in comparison with long-lasting insecticide-treated nets.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Seo, Mikyung Kelly; Baker, Peter; Ngo, Karen Ngoc-Lan

    2014-02-24

    New RTS,S malaria vaccines may soon be licensed, yet its cost-effectiveness is unknown. Before the widespread introduction of RTS,S vaccines, cost-effectiveness studies are needed to help inform governments in resource-poor settings about how best to prioritize between the new vaccine and existing malaria interventions. A Markov model simulated malaria progression in a hypothetical Malawian birth cohort. Parameters were based on published data. Three strategies were compared: no intervention, vaccination at one year, and long-lasting, insecticide-treated nets (LLINs) at birth. Both health service and societal perspectives were explored. Health outcomes were measured in disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) averted and costed in 2012 US$. Incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs) were calculated and extensive sensitivity analyses were conducted. Three times GDP per capita ($1,095) per DALY averted was used for a cost-effectiveness threshold, whilst one times GDP ($365) was considered 'very cost-effective'. From a societal perspective the vaccine strategy was dominant. It averted 0.11 more DALYs than LLINs and 0.372 more DALYs than the no intervention strategy per person, while costing $10.04 less than LLINs and $59.74 less than no intervention. From a health service perspective the vaccine's ICER was $145.03 per DALY averted, and thus can be considered very cost-effective. The results were robust to changes in all variables except the vaccine and LLINs' duration of efficacy. Vaccines remained cost-effective even at the lowest assumed efficacy levels of 49.6% (mild malaria) and 14.2% (severe malaria), and the highest price of $15. However, from a societal perspective, if the vaccine duration efficacy was set below 2.69 years or the LLIN duration of efficacy was greater than 4.24 years then LLINs became the more cost-effective strategy. The results showed that vaccinating Malawian children with RTS,S vaccines was very cost-effective from both a societal and a

  14. [Bayesian approach for the cost-effectiveness evaluation of healthcare technologies].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Berchialla, Paola; Gregori, Dario; Brunello, Franco; Veltri, Andrea; Petrinco, Michele; Pagano, Eva

    2009-01-01

    The development of Bayesian statistical methods for the assessment of the cost-effectiveness of health care technologies is reviewed. Although many studies adopt a frequentist approach, several authors have advocated the use of Bayesian methods in health economics. Emphasis has been placed on the advantages of the Bayesian approach, which include: (i) the ability to make more intuitive and meaningful inferences; (ii) the ability to tackle complex problems, such as allowing for the inclusion of patients who generate no cost, thanks to the availability of powerful computational algorithms; (iii) the importance of a full use of quantitative and structural prior information to produce realistic inferences. Much literature comparing the cost-effectiveness of two treatments is based on the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio. However, new methods are arising with the purpose of decision making. These methods are based on a net benefits approach. In the present context, the cost-effectiveness acceptability curves have been pointed out to be intrinsically Bayesian in their formulation. They plot the probability of a positive net benefit against the threshold cost of a unit increase in efficacy.A case study is presented in order to illustrate the Bayesian statistics in the cost-effectiveness analysis. Emphasis is placed on the cost-effectiveness acceptability curves. Advantages and disadvantages of the method described in this paper have been compared to frequentist methods and discussed.

  15. Cost-effectiveness of colorectal cancer screening

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    I. Lansdorp-Vogelaar (Iris); A.B. Knudsen (Amy); H. Brenner (Hermann)

    2011-01-01

    textabstractColorectal cancer is an important public health problem. Several screening methods have been shown to be effective in reducing colorectal cancer mortality. The objective of this review was to assess the cost-effectiveness of the different colorectal cancer screening methods and to

  16. Cost-effectiveness of escitalopram vs. citalopram in major depressive disorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fantino, Bruno; Moore, Nicholas; Verdoux, Hélène; Auray, Jean-Paul

    2007-03-01

    Clinical trials have shown better efficacy of escitalopram over citalopram, and review-based economic models the cost-effectiveness of escitalopram vs. citalopram (brand and generic). No head-to-head clinical trial has, however, evaluated the cost-effectiveness of both drugs so far. The aim of this study was to assess the relative cost-effectiveness of escitalopram compared with citalopram in patients with major depressive disorder. An economic evaluation was conducted alongside a double-blind randomized clinical trial conducted by general practitioners and psychiatrists comparing fixed doses of escitalopram (20 mg/day) or citalopram (40 mg/day) over 8 weeks in ambulatory care patients with major depressive disorder (baseline Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale score > or =30). Resources use was recorded using a standardized form recording use of healthcare services and days of sick leave for the 2-month prestudy period and for the 8-week study period. Statistically significant improvements were observed in patients treated with escitalopram. Mean per-patient costs for the escitalopram group, compared with the citalopram group, were 41% lower (96 euro vs. 163 euro; Pescitalopram compared with citalopram recipients, assuming a parity price between escitalopram and citalopram. Bootstrapped distributions of the cost-effectiveness ratios also showed better effectiveness and lower costs for escitalopram compared with citalopram. Escitalopram is significantly more effective than citalopram, and is associated with lower healthcare costs. This prospective economic analysis demonstrated that escitalopram is a cost-effective first-line treatment option for major depressive disorder.

  17. Above Bonneville passage and propagation cost effectiveness analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Paulsen, C.M.; Hyman, J.B.; Wernstedt, K.

    1993-05-01

    We have developed several models to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of alternative strategies to mitigate hydrosystem impacts on salmon and steelhead, and applied these models to areas of the Columbia River Basin. Our latest application evaluates the cost-effectiveness of proposed strategies that target mainstem survival (e.g., predator control, increases in water velocity) and subbasin propagation (e.g., habitat improvements, screening, hatchery production increases) for chinook salmon and steelhead stocks, in the portion of the Columbia Basin bounded by Bonneville, Chief Joseph, Dworshak, and Hells Canyon darns. At its core the analysis primarily considers financial cost and biological effectiveness, but we have included other attributes which may be of concern to the region

  18. Above Bonneville Passage and Propagation Cost Effectiveness Analysis.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Paulsen, C.M.; Hyman, J.B.; Wernstedt, K.

    1993-05-01

    We have developed several models to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of alternative strategies to mitigate hydrosystem impacts on salmon and steelhead, and applied these models to areas of the Columbia River Basin. Our latest application evaluates the cost-effectiveness of proposed strategies that target mainstem survival (e.g., predator control, increases in water velocity) and subbasin propagation (e.g., habitat improvements, screening, hatchery production increases) for chinook salmon and steelhead stocks, in the portion of the Columbia Basin bounded by Bonneville, Chief Joseph, Dworshak, and Hells Canyon darns. At its core the analysis primarily considers financial cost and biological effectiveness, but we have included other attributes which may be of concern to the region.

  19. Contemporary Costs Associated With Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement: A Propensity-Matched Cost Analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ailawadi, Gorav; LaPar, Damien J; Speir, Alan M; Ghanta, Ravi K; Yarboro, Leora T; Crosby, Ivan K; Lim, D Scott; Quader, Mohammed A; Rich, Jeffrey B

    2016-01-01

    The Placement of Aortic Transcatheter Valve (PARTNER) trial suggested an economic advantage for transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) for high-risk patients. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the cost effectiveness of TAVR in the "real world" by comparing TAVR with surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR) in intermediate-risk and high-risk patients. A multiinstitutional database of The Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) (2011 to 2013) linked with estimated cost data was evaluated for isolated TAVR and SAVR operations (n = 5,578). TAVR-treated patients (n = 340) were 1:1 propensity matched with SAVR-treated patients (n = 340). Patients undergoing SAVR were further stratified into intermediate-risk (SAVR-IR: predicted risk of mortality [PROM] 4% to 8%) and high-risk (SAVR-HR: PROM >8%) cohorts. Median STS PROM for TAVR was 6.32% compared with 6.30% for SAVR (SAVR-IR 4.6% and SAVR-HR 12.4%). A transfemoral TAVR approach was most common (61%). Mortality was higher for TAVR (10%) compared with SAVR (6%, p costs compared with SAVR ($69,921 vs $33,598, p cost of TAVR was largely driven by the cost of the valve (all p cost savings versus TAVR. TAVR was associated with greater total costs and mortality compared with SAVR in intermediate-risk and high-risk patients while conferring lower major morbidity and improved resource use. Increased cost of TAVR appears largely related to the cost of the valve. Until the price of TAVR valves decreases, these data suggest that TAVR may not provide the most cost-effective strategy, particularly for intermediate-risk patients. Copyright © 2016 The Society of Thoracic Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  20. The Cost and Cost-Effectiveness of Scaling up Screening and Treatment of Syphilis in Pregnancy: A Model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kahn, James G.; Jiwani, Aliya; Gomez, Gabriela B.; Hawkes, Sarah J.; Chesson, Harrell W.; Broutet, Nathalie; Kamb, Mary L.; Newman, Lori M.

    2014-01-01

    Background Syphilis in pregnancy imposes a significant global health and economic burden. More than half of cases result in serious adverse events, including infant mortality and infection. The annual global burden from mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) of syphilis is estimated at 3.6 million disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) and $309 million in medical costs. Syphilis screening and treatment is simple, effective, and affordable, yet, worldwide, most pregnant women do not receive these services. We assessed cost-effectiveness of scaling-up syphilis screening and treatment in existing antenatal care (ANC) programs in various programmatic, epidemiologic, and economic contexts. Methods and Findings We modeled the cost, health impact, and cost-effectiveness of expanded syphilis screening and treatment in ANC, compared to current services, for 1,000,000 pregnancies per year over four years. We defined eight generic country scenarios by systematically varying three factors: current maternal syphilis testing and treatment coverage, syphilis prevalence in pregnant women, and the cost of healthcare. We calculated program and net costs, DALYs averted, and net costs per DALY averted over four years in each scenario. Program costs are estimated at $4,142,287 – $8,235,796 per million pregnant women (2010 USD). Net costs, adjusted for averted medical care and current services, range from net savings of $12,261,250 to net costs of $1,736,807. The program averts an estimated 5,754 – 93,484 DALYs, yielding net savings in four scenarios, and a cost per DALY averted of $24 – $111 in the four scenarios with net costs. Results were robust in sensitivity analyses. Conclusions Eliminating MTCT of syphilis through expanded screening and treatment in ANC is likely to be highly cost-effective by WHO-defined thresholds in a wide range of settings. Countries with high prevalence, low current service coverage, and high healthcare cost would benefit most. Future analyses can be

  1. Economic implications of using bendamustine, alemtuzumab, or chlorambucil as a first-line therapy for chronic lymphocytic leukemia in the US: a cost-effectiveness analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kongnakorn T

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available Thitima Kongnakorn,1 James A Sterchele,2 Christopher G Salvador,3 Denis Getsios,4 Mkaya Mwamburi51Evidera, Bangkok, Thailand; 2formerly of Teva Branded Pharmaceutical Products R&D, Inc, Frazer, PA, 3Oncology Market Research, Teva Branded Pharmaceutical Products R&D, Inc, Frazer, PA, 4Evidera, Lexington, MA, 5Tufts University School of Medicine, Public Health and Community Medicine, Boston, MA, USABackground: The objective of this analysis was to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of using bendamustine versus alemtuzumab or bendamustine versus chlorambucil as a first-line therapy in patients with Binet stage B or C chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL in the US.Methods: A discrete event simulation of the disease course of CLL was developed to evaluate the economic implications of single-agent treatment with bendamustine, alemtuzumab, or chlorambucil, which are indicated for a treatment-naïve patient population with Binet stage B or C CLL. Data from clinical trials were used to create a simulated patient population, risk equations for progression-free survival and survival post disease progression, response rates, and rates of adverse events. Costs from a US health care payer perspective in 2012 US dollars, survival (life years, and quality-adjusted life years (QALYs were estimated over a patient's lifetime; all were discounted at 3% per year.Results: Compared with alemtuzumab, bendamustine was considered to be a dominant treatment providing greater benefit (6.10 versus 5.37 life years and 4.02 versus 3.45 QALYs at lower cost ($78,776 versus $121,441. Compared with chlorambucil, bendamustine was associated with higher costs ($78,776 versus $42,337 but with improved health outcomes (6.10 versus 5.21 life years and 4.02 versus 3.30 QALYs, resulting in incremental cost-effectiveness ratios of $40,971 per life year gained and $50,619 per QALY gained.Conclusion: Bendamustine is expected to provide cost savings and greater health benefit than alemtuzumab in

  2. Effectiveness and Cost-Benefit of an Influenza Vaccination Program for Health Care Workers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Annalee Yassi

    1991-01-01

    Full Text Available This study retrospectively reviewed the effectiveness of a vaccination program for hospital workers in a large tertiary care hospital, quantified influenza-induced absenteeism, and examined the factors determining the costs and benefits of this program. Absenteeism among high risk hospital workers was increased by 35% (P=0.001 during the virulent influenza epidemic of 1987–88. Benefits, measured as the value of sick time avoided, compared with costs, including materials, occupational nursing staff time, employee time during vaccination, and time lost due to adverse reactions, revealed a net benefit of $39.23 per vaccinated employee. Sensitivity analyses highlighted vaccine efficacy and absenteeism due to influenza and adverse reactions to vaccination as the most important factors; with time lost due to adverse reactions as much as 0.013 days per vaccinated employee and a vaccine efficacy of 70%, net positive benefits could be achieved if influenza-induced absenteeism is 0.5% or greater of paid employee time during the epidemic season. The results suggested that the net cost-benefit of a hospital employee vaccination program to decrease both employee morbidity and nosocomial influenza among patients, would be increased by active promotion of the vaccination program, especially for employees in high risk areas.

  3. Cost-effectiveness of emergency department-initiated treatment for opioid dependence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Busch, Susan H; Fiellin, David A; Chawarski, Marek C; Owens, Patricia H; Pantalon, Michael V; Hawk, Kathryn; Bernstein, Steven L; O'Connor, Patrick G; D'Onofrio, Gail

    2017-11-01

    In a recent randomized trial, patients with opioid dependence receiving brief intervention, emergency department (ED)-initiated buprenorphine and ongoing follow-up in primary care with buprenorphine (buprenorphine) were twice as likely to be engaged in addiction treatment compared with referral to community-based treatment (referral) or brief intervention and referral (brief intervention). Our aim was to evaluate the relative cost-effectiveness of these three methods of intervening on opioid dependence in the ED. Measured health-care use was converted to dollar values. We considered a health-care system perspective and constructed cost-effectiveness acceptability curves that indicate the probability each treatment is cost-effective under different thresholds of willingness-to-pay for outcomes studied. An urban ED in the United States. Opioid-dependent patients aged 18 years or older. Self-reported 30-day assessment data were used to construct cost-effectiveness acceptability curves for patient engagement in formal addiction treatment at 30 days and the number of days illicit opioid-free in the past week. Considering only health-care system costs, cost-effectiveness acceptability curves indicate that at all positive willingness-to-pay values, ED-initiated buprenorphine treatment was more cost-effective than brief intervention or referral. For example, at a willingness-to-pay threshold of $1000 for 30-day treatment engagement, we are 79% certain ED-initiated buprenorphine is most cost-effective compared with other studied treatments. Similar results were found for days illicit opioid-free in the past week. Results were robust to secondary analyses that included patients with missing cost data, included crime and patient time costs in the numerator, and to changes in unit price estimates. In the United States, emergency department-initiated buprenorphine intervention for patients with opioid dependence provides high value compared with referral to community

  4. An Assessment Of The Effectiveness Of Collaborative Cost ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    This paper presents the effects of Collaborative Cost Reduction Model (CCRM) as a control Approach to reduce the high cost implication that causes the slow pace of migration process from IPV4 to IPV6 in Nigeria. This study reveals that CCRM can be applied to achieve Cost Reduction in collocation efforts in ...

  5. Cost-effectiveness of preventive interventions to reduce alcohol consumption in Denmark.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Astrid Ledgaard Holm

    Full Text Available INTRODUCTION: Excessive alcohol consumption increases the risk of many diseases and injuries, and the Global Burden of Disease 2010 study estimated that 6% of the burden of disease in Denmark is due to alcohol consumption. Alcohol consumption thus places a considerable economic burden on society. METHODS: We analysed the cost-effectiveness of six interventions aimed at preventing alcohol abuse in the adult Danish population: 30% increased taxation, increased minimum legal drinking age, advertisement bans, limited hours of retail sales, and brief and longer individual interventions. Potential health effects were evaluated as changes in incidence, prevalence and mortality of alcohol-related diseases and injuries. Net costs were calculated as the sum of intervention costs and cost offsets related to treatment of alcohol-related outcomes, based on health care costs from Danish national registers. Cost-effectiveness was evaluated by calculating incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs for each intervention. We also created an intervention pathway to determine the optimal sequence of interventions and their combined effects. RESULTS: Three of the analysed interventions (advertising bans, limited hours of retail sales and taxation were cost-saving, and the remaining three interventions were all cost-effective. Net costs varied from € -17 million per year for advertisement ban to € 8 million for longer individual intervention. Effectiveness varied from 115 disability-adjusted life years (DALY per year for minimum legal drinking age to 2,900 DALY for advertisement ban. The total annual effect if all interventions were implemented would be 7,300 DALY, with a net cost of € -30 million. CONCLUSION: Our results show that interventions targeting the whole population were more effective than individual-focused interventions. A ban on alcohol advertising, limited hours of retail sale and increased taxation had the highest probability of being cost

  6. Cost-effectiveness of preventive interventions to reduce alcohol consumption in Denmark.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Holm, Astrid Ledgaard; Veerman, Lennert; Cobiac, Linda; Ekholm, Ola; Diderichsen, Finn

    2014-01-01

    Excessive alcohol consumption increases the risk of many diseases and injuries, and the Global Burden of Disease 2010 study estimated that 6% of the burden of disease in Denmark is due to alcohol consumption. Alcohol consumption thus places a considerable economic burden on society. We analysed the cost-effectiveness of six interventions aimed at preventing alcohol abuse in the adult Danish population: 30% increased taxation, increased minimum legal drinking age, advertisement bans, limited hours of retail sales, and brief and longer individual interventions. Potential health effects were evaluated as changes in incidence, prevalence and mortality of alcohol-related diseases and injuries. Net costs were calculated as the sum of intervention costs and cost offsets related to treatment of alcohol-related outcomes, based on health care costs from Danish national registers. Cost-effectiveness was evaluated by calculating incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs) for each intervention. We also created an intervention pathway to determine the optimal sequence of interventions and their combined effects. Three of the analysed interventions (advertising bans, limited hours of retail sales and taxation) were cost-saving, and the remaining three interventions were all cost-effective. Net costs varied from € -17 million per year for advertisement ban to € 8 million for longer individual intervention. Effectiveness varied from 115 disability-adjusted life years (DALY) per year for minimum legal drinking age to 2,900 DALY for advertisement ban. The total annual effect if all interventions were implemented would be 7,300 DALY, with a net cost of € -30 million. Our results show that interventions targeting the whole population were more effective than individual-focused interventions. A ban on alcohol advertising, limited hours of retail sale and increased taxation had the highest probability of being cost-saving and should thus be first priority for implementation.

  7. The cost-effectiveness, health benefits, and financial costs of new antiviral treatments for hepatitis C virus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rein, David B; Wittenborn, John S; Smith, Bryce D; Liffmann, Danielle K; Ward, John W

    2015-07-15

    New hepatitis C virus (HCV) treatments deliver higher cure rates with fewer contraindications, increasing demand for treatment and healthcare costs. The cost-effectiveness of new treatments is unknown. We conducted a microsimulation of guideline testing followed by alternative treatment regimens for HCV among the US population aged 20 and older to estimate cases identified, treated, sustained viral response, deaths, medical costs, quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs), and the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) of different treatment options expressed as discounted lifetime costs and benefits from the healthcare perspective. Compared to treatment with pegylated interferon and ribavirin (PR), and a protease inhibitor for HCV genotype (G) 1 and PR alone for G2/3, treatment with PR and Sofosbuvir (PRS) for G1/4 and treatment with Sofosbuvir and ribavirin (SR) for G2/3 increased QALYs by 555 226, reduced deaths by 80 682, and increased costs by $26.2 billion at an ICER of $47 304 per QALY gained. As compared to PRS/SR, treating with an all oral regimen of Sofosbuvir and Simeprevir (SS) for G1/4 and SR for G2/3, increased QALYs by 1 110 451 and reduced deaths by an additional 164 540 at an incremental cost of $80.1 billion and an ICER of $72 169. In sensitivity analysis, where treatment with SS effectiveness was set to the list price of Viekira Pak and then Harvoni, treatment cost $24 921 and $25 405 per QALY gained as compared to PRS/SR. New treatments are cost-effectiveness per person treated, but pent-up demand for treatment may create challenges for financing. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Infectious Diseases Society of America. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  8. POEM is a cost-effective procedure: cost-utility analysis of endoscopic and surgical treatment options in the management of achalasia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miller, Heidi J; Neupane, Ruel; Fayezizadeh, Mojtaba; Majumder, Arnab; Marks, Jeffrey M

    2017-04-01

    Achalasia is a rare motility disorder of the esophagus. Treatment is palliative with the goal of symptom remission and slowing the progression of the disease. Treatment options include per oral endoscopic myotomy (POEM), laparoscopic Heller myotomy (LM) and endoscopic treatments such as pneumatic dilation (PD) and botulinum toxin type A injections (BI). We evaluate the economics and cost-effectiveness of treating achalasia. We performed cost analysis for POEM, LM, PD and BI at our institution from 2011 to 2015. Cost of LM was set to 1, and other procedures are presented as percentage change. Cost-effectiveness was calculated based on cost, number of interventions required for optimal results for dilations and injections and efficacy reported in the current literature. Incremental cost-effectiveness ratio was calculated by a cost-utility analysis using quality-adjusted life year gained, defined as a symptom-free year in a patient with achalasia. Average number of interventions required was 2.3 dilations or two injections for efficacies of 80 and 61 %, respectively. POEM cost 1.058 times the cost of LM, and PD and BI cost 0.559 and 0.448 times the cost of LM. Annual cost per cure over a period of 4 years for POEM, and LM were consistently equivalent, trending the same as PD although this has a lower initial cost. The cost per cure of BI remains stable over 3 years and then doubles. The cost-effectiveness of POEM and LM is equivalent. Myotomy, either surgical or endoscopic, is more cost-effective than BI due to high failure rates of the economical intervention. When treatment is being considered BI should be utilized in patients with less than 2-year life expectancy. Pneumatic dilations are cost-effective and are an acceptable approach to treatment of achalasia, although myotomy has a lower relapse rate and is cost-effective compared to PD after 2 years.

  9. Making choices in health: WHO guide to cost effectiveness analysis

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Tan Torres Edejer, Tessa

    2003-01-01

    ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . XXI PART ONE: METHODS COST-EFFECTIVENESS FOR GENERALIZED ANALYSIS 1. 2. What is Generalized Cost-Effectiveness Analysis? . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Undertaking...

  10. The Effectiveness of Low-Cost Tele-Lecturing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Muta, Hiromitsu; Kikuta, Reiko; Hamano, Takashi; Maesako, Takanori

    1997-01-01

    Compares distance education using PictureTel, a compressed-digital-video system via telephone lines (audio and visual interactive communication) in terms of its costs and effectiveness with traditional in-class education. Costing less than half the traditional approach, the study suggested distance education would be economical if used frequently.…

  11. Diagnostic staging laparoscopy in gastric cancer treatment: A cost-effectiveness analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Kevin; Cannon, John G D; Jiang, Sam Y; Sambare, Tanmaya D; Owens, Douglas K; Bendavid, Eran; Poultsides, George A

    2018-05-01

    Accurate preoperative staging helps avert morbidity, mortality, and cost associated with non-therapeutic laparotomy in gastric cancer (GC) patients. Diagnostic staging laparoscopy (DSL) can detect metastases with high sensitivity, but its cost-effectiveness has not been previously studied. We developed a decision analysis model to assess the cost-effectiveness of preoperative DSL in GC workup. Analysis was based on a hypothetical cohort of GC patients in the U.S. for whom initial imaging shows no metastases. The cost-effectiveness of DSL was measured as cost per quality-adjusted life-year (QALY) gained. Drivers of cost-effectiveness were assessed in sensitivity analysis. Preoperative DSL required an investment of $107 012 per QALY. In sensitivity analysis, DSL became cost-effective at a threshold of $100 000/QALY when the probability of occult metastases exceeded 31.5% or when test sensitivity for metastases exceeded 86.3%. The likelihood of cost-effectiveness increased from 46% to 93% when both parameters were set at maximum reported values. The cost-effectiveness of DSL for GC patients is highly dependent on patient and test characteristics, and is more likely when DSL is used selectively where procedure yield is high, such as for locally advanced disease or in detecting peritoneal and superficial versus deep liver lesions. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  12. Cost effectiveness of reducing radon exposure in Spanish dwellings

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Colgan, P.A.; Gutierrez, J.

    1996-01-01

    Published information on the distribution of radon levels in Spanish single family dwellings is used to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of three different intervention scenarios: remediation of existing dwellings, radon proofing of all future dwellings and the targetting of areas with higher than average indoor radon concentrations. Analysis is carried out on the basis of a Reference Level of 400 Bq m -3 for the existing housing stock and 200 Bq m -3 for new dwellings. Certain assumptions are made about the effectiveness and durability of the measures applied and annualised costs are used to calculate the costs per lung cancer death averted. The results reveal that targetting future housing is a more cost-effective option than remediation of existing dwellings with radon concentrations above the Reference Level -the costs per lung cancer death averted are typically $145000. In high-risk areas, these costs can be considerably less, depending on the percentage of dwellings expected to exceed the Reference Level and the average savings in exposure as a result of the intervention. The costs of intervention to reduce lung cancer deaths following exposure to radon compare favourably with those of other health programmes in other countries. (Author)

  13. The Canadian Government perspective on cost-effective regulation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Martin, J.K.; Iwankow, C.

    1996-01-01

    Fiscal constraint, globalization of markets, and accelerated technological change have resulted in a new focus on the cost-effectiveness of government activities and, in turn, on methods of policy evaluation. An exploration of regulatory problems, and the use of regulation as a public policy instrument, reveals a commonalty of experience in all industrialized countries. This paper provides a brief synopsis of the Government of Canada's perspective on cost-effective regulation. To understand cost-effective regulation, this paper examines the principles of regulatory reform which underlie the current strategy of the federal government (collaborative decision-making mechanisms., methods of clear policy evaluation, and well defined lines of accountability). It discusses the nature of, and rationale for, government regulation, the reasons for regulatory reform in the economy, and the principal aims of Canadian regulatory reform and regulatory policy assessment. It does so by specifically addressing the role of cost-benefit analysis in the process of regulatory assessment - a method which involves systematically identifying, and quantifying where possible, the social benefits and costs associated with alternative public policy actions - with a particular focus on regulation which affects the Canadian nuclear industry. (author). 51 refs

  14. The Canadian Government perspective on cost-effective regulation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Martin, J K; Iwankow, C [Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, Ottawa, ON (Canada)

    1997-12-31

    Fiscal constraint, globalization of markets, and accelerated technological change have resulted in a new focus on the cost-effectiveness of government activities and, in turn, on methods of policy evaluation. An exploration of regulatory problems, and the use of regulation as a public policy instrument, reveals a commonalty of experience in all industrialized countries. This paper provides a brief synopsis of the Government of Canada`s perspective on cost-effective regulation. To understand cost-effective regulation, this paper examines the principles of regulatory reform which underlie the current strategy of the federal government (collaborative decision-making mechanisms., methods of clear policy evaluation, and well defined lines of accountability). It discusses the nature of, and rationale for, government regulation, the reasons for regulatory reform in the economy, and the principal aims of Canadian regulatory reform and regulatory policy assessment. It does so by specifically addressing the role of cost-benefit analysis in the process of regulatory assessment - a method which involves systematically identifying, and quantifying where possible, the social benefits and costs associated with alternative public policy actions - with a particular focus on regulation which affects the Canadian nuclear industry. (author). 51 refs.

  15. The Cost of Commonality: Assessing Value in Joint Programs

    Science.gov (United States)

    2015-12-01

    though product differentiation. This can manifest as a real or perceived value disparity. Thus, substantial coordination among system stakeholders is... satisfaction . Ultimately, incorporation of the Joint Value Model can contribute to more cost-effective solutions and greater value in joint capability...

  16. Effectiveness and Cost-Effectiveness of Occupation-Based Occupational Therapy Using the Aid for Decision Making in Occupation Choice (ADOC) for Older Residents: Pilot Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nagayama, Hirofumi; Tomori, Kounosuke; Ohno, Kanta; Takahashi, Kayoko; Ogahara, Kakuya; Sawada, Tatsunori; Uezu, Sei; Nagatani, Ryutaro; Yamauchi, Keita

    2016-01-01

    Background Care-home residents are mostly inactive, have little interaction with staff, and are dependent on staff to engage in daily occupations. We recently developed an iPad application called the Aid for Decision-making in Occupation Choice (ADOC) to promote shared decision-making in activities and occupation-based goal setting by choosing from illustrations describing daily activities. This study aimed to evaluate if interventions based on occupation-based goal setting using the ADOC could focus on meaningful activities to improve quality of life and independent activities of daily living, with greater cost-effectiveness than an impairment-based approach as well as to evaluate the feasibility of conducting a large cluster, randomized controlled trial. Method In this single (assessor)-blind pilot cluster randomized controlled trial, the intervention group (ADOC group) received occupational therapy based on occupation-based goal setting using the ADOC, and the interventions were focused on meaningful occupations. The control group underwent an impairment-based approach focused on restoring capacities, without goal setting tools. In both groups, the 20-minute individualized intervention sessions were conducted twice a week for 4 months. Main Outcome Measures Short Form-36 (SF-36) score, SF-6D utility score, quality adjusted life years (QALY), Barthel Index, and total care cost. Results We randomized and analyzed 12 facilities (44 participants, 18.5% drop-out rate), with 6 facilities each allocated to the ADOC (n = 23) and control (n = 21) groups. After the 4-month intervention, the ADOC group had a significantly greater change in the BI score, with improved scores (P = 0.027, 95% CI 0.41 to 6.87, intracluster correlation coefficient = 0.14). No other outcome was significantly different. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio, calculated using the change in BI score, was $63.1. Conclusion The results suggest that occupational therapy using the ADOC for older

  17. Cost-effectiveness of tiotropium versus salmeterol: the POET-COPD trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hoogendoorn, Martine; Al, Maiwenn J; Beeh, Kai-Michael; Bowles, David; Graf von der Schulenburg, J Matthias; Lungershausen, Juliane; Monz, Brigitta U; Schmidt, Hendrik; Vogelmeier, Claus; Rutten-van Mölken, Maureen P M H

    2013-03-01

    The aim of this study was to perform a 1-yr trial-based cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA) of tiotropium versus salmeterol followed by a 5-yr model-based CEA. The within-trial CEA, including 7,250 patients with moderate to very severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), was performed alongside the 1-yr international randomised controlled Prevention of Exacerbations with Tiotropium (POET)-COPD trial comparing tiotropium with salmeterol regarding the effect on exacerbations. Main end-points of the trial-based analysis were costs, number of exacerbations and exacerbation days. The model-based analysis was conducted to extrapolate results to 5 yrs and to calculate quality-adjusted life years (QALYs). 1-yr costs per patient from the German statutory health insurance (SHI) perspective and the societal perspective were €126 (95% uncertainty interval (UI) €55-195) and €170 (95% UI €77-260) higher for tiotropium, respectively. The annual number of exacerbations was 0.064 (95% UI 0.010-0.118) lower for tiotropium, leading to a reduction in exacerbation-related costs of €87 (95% UI €19-157). The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio was €1,961 per exacerbation avoided from the SHI perspective and €2,647 from the societal perspective. In the model-based analyses, the 5-yr costs per QALY were €3,488 from the SHI perspective and €8,141 from the societal perspective. Tiotropium reduced exacerbations and exacerbation-related costs, but increased total costs. Tiotropium can be considered cost-effective as the resulting cost-effectiveness ratios were below commonly accepted willingness-to-pay thresholds.

  18. Cost-effectiveness analysis of mammography and clinical breast examination strategies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ahern, Charlotte Hsieh; Shen, Yu

    2009-01-01

    Purpose Breast cancer screening by mammography and clinical breast exam are commonly used for early tumor detection. Previous cost-effectiveness studies considered mammography alone or did not account for all relevant costs. In this study, we assessed the cost-effectiveness of screening schedules recommended by three major cancer organizations and compared them with alternative strategies. We considered costs of screening examinations, subsequent work-up, biopsy, and treatment interventions after diagnosis. Methods We used a microsimulation model to generate women’s life histories, and assessed screening and treatment impacts on survival. Using statistical models, we accounted for age-specific incidence, preclinical disease duration, and age-specific sensitivity and specificity for each screening modality. The outcomes of interest were quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) saved and total costs with a 3% annual discount rate. Incremental cost-effectiveness ratios were used to compare strategies. Sensitivity analyses were performed by varying some of the assumptions. Results Compared to guidelines from the National Cancer Institute and the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, alternative strategies were more efficient. Mammography and clinical breast exam in alternating years from ages 40 to 79 was a cost-effective alternative compared to the guidelines, costing $35,500 per QALY saved compared with no screening. The American Cancer Society guideline was the most effective and the most expensive, costing over $680,000 for an added QALY compared to the above alternative. Conclusion Screening strategies with lower costs and benefits comparable to those currently recommended should be considered for implementation in practice and for future guidelines. PMID:19258473

  19. Effects of naloxone distribution alone or in combination with addiction treatment with or without pre-exposure prophylaxis for HIV prevention in people who inject drugs: a cost-effectiveness modelling study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Uyei, Jennifer; Fiellin, David A; Buchelli, Marianne; Rodriguez-Santana, Ramon; Braithwaite, R Scott

    2017-03-01

    In the USA, an epidemic of opioid overdose deaths is occurring, many of which are from heroin. Combining naloxone distribution with linkage to addiction treatment or pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for HIV prevention through syringe service programmes has the potential to save lives and be cost-effective. We estimated the outcomes and cost-effectiveness of five alternative strategies: no additional intervention, naloxone distribution, naloxone distribution plus linkage to addiction treatment, naloxone distribution plus PrEP, and naloxone distribution plus linkage to addiction treatment and PrEP. We developed a decision analytical Markov model to simulate opioid overdose, HIV incidence, overdose-related deaths, and HIV-related deaths in people who inject drugs in Connecticut, USA. Model input parameters were derived from published sources. We compared each strategy with no intervention, as well as simultaneously considering all strategies. Sensitivity analysis was done for all variables. Linkage to addiction treatment was referral to an opioid treatment programme for methadone. Endpoints were survival, life expectancy, quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs), number and percentage of overdose deaths averted, number of HIV-related deaths averted, total costs (in 2015 US$) associated with each strategy, and incremental cost per QALY gained. In the base-case analysis, compared with no additional intervention, the naloxone distribution strategy yielded an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) of $323 per QALY, and naloxone distribution plus linkage to addiction treatment was cost saving compared with no additional intervention (greater effectiveness and less expensive). The most efficient strategies (ie, those conferring the greatest health benefit for a particular budget) were naloxone distribution combined with linkage to addiction treatment (cost saving), and naloxone distribution combined with PrEP and linkage to addiction treatment (ICER $95 337 per QALY) at a

  20. [Relating costs to activities in hospitals. Use of internal cost accounting].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stavem, K

    1995-01-10

    During the last few years hospital cost accounting has become widespread in many countries, in parallel with increasing cost pressure, greater competition and new financing schemes. Cost accounting has been used in the manufacturing industry for many years. Costs can be related to activities and production, e.g. by the costing of procedures, episodes of care and other internally defined cost objectives. Norwegian hospitals have lagged behind in the adoption of cost accounting. They ought to act quickly if they want to be prepared for possible changes in health care financing. The benefits can be considerable to a hospital operating in a rapidly changing health care environment.

  1. Skeletal traction and intramedullary nailing cost-effectiveness

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    In the operative group 24 patients had union with one delayed union while in the traction group 12 patients had union, 9 with mal union and 4 delayed union. Conclusion: Intramedullary nailing is more cost-effective than skeletal traction. It met the dominant strategy, because it was significantly less costly than skeletal ...

  2. The costs and effectiveness of various decontamination procedures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Robinson, C.A.; Haywood, S.M.; Brown, J.

    1991-01-01

    Knowledge of the cost and effectiveness of decontamination techniques is necessary to optimise the implementation of this countermeasure. These factors vary depending upon the nature of the land affected. There is a great deal of data available on the cost and efficacy of specific decontamination techniques on particular surfaces, but little information for combinations of techniques in real environments. This paper describes the preliminary stages of a project, in progress at the National Radiological Protection Board (NRPB), aimed at providing this information, for inner city, residential and rural areas. The efficacies of individual decontamination processes on specific surfaces were from the available literature. The NRPB EXPURT (EXPosure from Urban Radionuclide Transfer) compartmental model was used to determine the effectiveness of a number of representative decontamination programmes; each programme represents a combination of common decontamination techniques which may be applied to the various surfaces comprising an inner-city, residential or rural environment, ie, paving, walls, roofs and soil. The effectiveness of each programme was measured in terms of the reduction in dose, or dose rate, to an individual in that environment, taking account of the building characteristics, and the occupancy of the population in these buildings. The costs of each programme were derived, based on data available in current literature on the cost of the constituent decontamination techniques. Representative cost and effectiveness data are presented and their application is discussed

  3. Choice of Hemodialysis Access in Older Adults: A Cost-Effectiveness Analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hall, Rasheeda K; Myers, Evan R; Rosas, Sylvia E; O'Hare, Ann M; Colón-Emeric, Cathleen S

    2017-06-07

    Although arteriovenous fistulas have been found to be the most cost-effective form of hemodialysis access, the relative benefits of placing an arteriovenous fistula versus an arteriovenous graft seem to be least certain for older adults and when placed preemptively. However, older adults' life expectancy is heterogeneous, and most patients do not undergo permanent access creation until after dialysis initiation. We evaluated cost-effectiveness of arteriovenous fistula placement after dialysis initiation in older adults as a function of age and life expectancy. Using a hypothetical cohort of patients on incident hemodialysis with central venous catheters, we constructed Markov models of three treatment options: ( 1 ) arteriovenous fistula placement, ( 2 ) arteriovenous graft placement, or ( 3 ) continued catheter use. Costs, utilities, and transitional probabilities were derived from existing literature. Probabilistic sensitivity analyses were performed by age group (65-69, 70-74, 75-79, 80-84, and 85-89 years old) and quartile of life expectancy. Costs, quality-adjusted life-months, and incremental cost-effectiveness ratios were evaluated for up to 5 years. The arteriovenous fistula option was cost effective compared with continued catheter use for all age and life expectancy groups, except for 85-89 year olds in the lowest life expectancy quartile. The arteriovenous fistula option was more cost effective than the arteriovenous graft option for all quartiles of life expectancy among the 65- to 69-year-old age group. For older age groups, differences in cost-effectiveness between the strategies were attenuated, and the arteriovenous fistula option tended to only be cost effective in patients with life expectancy >2 years. For groups for which the arteriovenous fistula option was not cost saving, the cost to gain one quality-adjusted life-month ranged from $2294 to $14,042. Among older adults, the cost-effectiveness of an arteriovenous fistula placed within the first

  4. A lesson in business: cost-effectiveness analysis of a novel financial incentive intervention for increasing physical activity in the workplace.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dallat, Mary Anne T; Hunter, Ruth F; Tully, Mark A; Cairns, Karen J; Kee, Frank

    2013-10-10

    Recently both the UK and US governments have advocated the use of financial incentives to encourage healthier lifestyle choices but evidence for the cost-effectiveness of such interventions is lacking. Our aim was to perform a cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA) of a quasi-experimental trial, exploring the use of financial incentives to increase employee physical activity levels, from a healthcare and employer's perspective. Employees used a 'loyalty card' to objectively monitor their physical activity at work over 12 weeks. The Incentive Group (n=199) collected points and received rewards for minutes of physical activity completed. The No Incentive Group (n=207) self-monitored their physical activity only. Quality of life (QOL) and absenteeism were assessed at baseline and 6 months follow-up. QOL scores were also converted into productivity estimates using a validated algorithm. The additional costs of the Incentive Group were divided by the additional quality adjusted life years (QALYs) or productivity gained to calculate incremental cost effectiveness ratios (ICERs). Cost-effectiveness acceptability curves (CEACs) and population expected value of perfect information (EVPI) was used to characterize and value the uncertainty in our estimates. The Incentive Group performed more physical activity over 12 weeks and by 6 months had achieved greater gains in QOL and productivity, although these mean differences were not statistically significant. The ICERs were £2,900/QALY and £2,700 per percentage increase in overall employee productivity. Whilst the confidence intervals surrounding these ICERs were wide, CEACs showed a high chance of the intervention being cost-effective at low willingness-to-pay (WTP) thresholds. The Physical Activity Loyalty card (PAL) scheme is potentially cost-effective from both a healthcare and employer's perspective but further research is warranted to reduce uncertainty in our results. It is based on a sustainable "business model" which

  5. Bayesian sample size determination for cost-effectiveness studies with censored data.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daniel P Beavers

    Full Text Available Cost-effectiveness models are commonly utilized to determine the combined clinical and economic impact of one treatment compared to another. However, most methods for sample size determination of cost-effectiveness studies assume fully observed costs and effectiveness outcomes, which presents challenges for survival-based studies in which censoring exists. We propose a Bayesian method for the design and analysis of cost-effectiveness data in which costs and effectiveness may be censored, and the sample size is approximated for both power and assurance. We explore two parametric models and demonstrate the flexibility of the approach to accommodate a variety of modifications to study assumptions.

  6. A cost effective approach to restoration of exploration disturbances in arid Western Australia

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Osborne, J. M. [Curtin Univ. of Technology, School of Environmental Biology, Perth, WA (Australia)

    1999-10-01

    An approach to the remediation of drill line disturbance, including vehicle compaction created by exploration activities, and of drill sump holes that were contaminated by salts and hydrocarbons in the arid lands of Western Australia, is proposed. In the case of drill line trials,it was demonstrated that scarification with seeding with fertilization, and seeding at 6 kg/hectare produced a high level of species richness, and a greater range of life forms than scarification or seeding alone. The higher plant richness was also coupled with significantly higher plant density and cover. In the case of sump holes, it was shown that the application of good quality seed at 15 kg/hectare with fertilizer, applied in late fall on newly prepared surfaces has produced successful plant establishment over disturbed highly saline sumps which contained hydrocarbon derivatives. In terms of cost, drill line rehabilitation at U.S.$ 860 per hectare, and U.S.$ 120 per sump hole were considered to have been highly cost effective. 2 refs., 5 tabs., 4 figs.

  7. A cost effective approach to restoration of exploration disturbances in arid Western Australia

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Osborne, J. M. (Curtin Univ. of Technology, School of Environmental Biology, Perth, WA (Australia))

    1999-01-01

    An approach to the remediation of drill line disturbance, including vehicle compaction created by exploration activities, and of drill sump holes that were contaminated by salts and hydrocarbons in the arid lands of Western Australia, is proposed. In the case of drill line trials,it was demonstrated that scarification with seeding with fertilization, and seeding at 6 kg/hectare produced a high level of species richness, and a greater range of life forms than scarification or seeding alone. The higher plant richness was also coupled with significantly higher plant density and cover. In the case of sump holes, it was shown that the application of good quality seed at 15 kg/hectare with fertilizer, applied in late fall on newly prepared surfaces has produced successful plant establishment over disturbed highly saline sumps which contained hydrocarbon derivatives. In terms of cost, drill line rehabilitation at U.S.$ 860 per hectare, and U.S.$ 120 per sump hole were considered to have been highly cost effective. 2 refs., 5 tabs., 4 figs.

  8. Cost-Effectiveness Analysis in Practice: Interventions to Improve High School Completion

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hollands, Fiona; Bowden, A. Brooks; Belfield, Clive; Levin, Henry M.; Cheng, Henan; Shand, Robert; Pan, Yilin; Hanisch-Cerda, Barbara

    2014-01-01

    In this article, we perform cost-effectiveness analysis on interventions that improve the rate of high school completion. Using the What Works Clearinghouse to select effective interventions, we calculate cost-effectiveness ratios for five youth interventions. We document wide variation in cost-effectiveness ratios between programs and between…

  9. Cost-effective treatment of low-risk carcinoma not invading bladder muscle.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Green, David A; Rink, Michael; Cha, Eugene K; Xylinas, Evanguelos; Chughtai, Bilal; Scherr, Douglas S; Shariat, Shahrokh F; Lee, Richard K

    2013-03-01

    Study Type - Therapy (cost effectiveness analysis) Level of Evidence 2a What's known on the subject? and What does the study add? Bladder cancer is one of the costliest malignancies to treat throughout the life of a patient. The most cost-effective management for low-risk non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer is not known. The current study shows that employing cystoscopic office fulguration for low-risk appearing bladder cancer recurrences can materially impact the cost-effectiveness of therapy. In a follow-up protocol where office fulguration is routinely employed for low-risk bladder cancers, peri-operative intravesical chemotherapy may not provide any additional cost-effectiveness benefit. To examine the cost-effectiveness of fulguration vs transurethral resection of bladder tumour (TURBT) with and without perioperative intravesical chemotherapy (PIC) for managing low-risk carcinoma not invading bladder muscle (NMIBC). Low-risk NMIBC carries a low progression rate, lending support to the use of office-based fulguration for small recurrences rather than traditional TURBT. A Markov state transition model was created to simulate treatment of NMIBC with vs without PIC, with recurrence treated by formal TURBT vs treatment with fulguration. Costing data were obtained from the Medicare Resource Based Relative Value Scale. Data regarding the success of PIC were obtained from the peer-reviewed literature, as were corresponding utilities for bladder cancer-related procedures. Sensitivity analyses were performed. At 5-year follow-up, a strategy of fulguration without PIC was the most cost-effective (mean cost-effectiveness = US $654.8/quality-adjusted life year), despite a lower recurrence rate with PIC. Both fulguration strategies dominated each TURBT strategy. Sensitivity analysis showed that fulguration without PIC dominated all other strategies when the recurrence rate after PIC was increased to ≥14.2% per year. Similarly, the cost-effectiveness of TURBT becomes more

  10. Cost-effectiveness of trachoma control in seven world regions.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Baltussen, R.M.P.M.; Sylla, M.; Frick, K.D.; Mariotti, S.P.

    2005-01-01

    BACKGROUND/AIMS: The fight against blinding trachoma is being addressed with an integrated strategy of surgery, antibiotics, hygiene promotion, and environmental improvement-the SAFE strategy, but its cost-effectiveness is largely unknown. This paper estimates the cost effectiveness of surgery and

  11. A Danish cost-effectiveness model of escitalopram in comparison with citalopram and venlafaxine as first-line treatments for major depressive disorder in primary care.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sørensen, Jan; Stage, Kurt B; Damsbo, Niels; Le Lay, Agathe; Hemels, Michiel E

    2007-01-01

    The objective of this study was to model the cost-effectiveness of escitalopram in comparison with generic citalopram and venlafaxine in primary care treatment of major depressive disorder (baseline scores 22-40 on the Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale, MADRS) in Denmark. A three-path decision analytic model with a 6-month horizon was used. All patients started at the primary care path and were referred to outpatient or inpatient secondary care in the case of insufficient response to treatment. Model inputs included drug-specific probabilities derived from systematic literature review, ad-hoc survey and expert opinion. Main outcome measures were remission defined as MADRS escitalopram (64.1%) than citalopram (58.9%). From both perspectives, the total expected cost per successfully treated patient was lower for escitalopram (DKK 22,323 healthcare, DKK 72,399 societal) than for citalopram (DKK 25,778 healthcare, DKK 87,786 societal). Remission rates and costs were similar for escitalopram and venlafaxine. Robustness of the findings was verified in multivariate sensitivity analyses. For patients in primary care, escitalopram appears to be a cost-effective alternative to (generic) citalopram, with greater clinical benefit and cost-savings, and similar in cost-effectiveness to venlafaxine.

  12. Maximizing cost-effectiveness by adjusting treatment strategy according to glaucoma severity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guedes, Ricardo Augusto Paletta; Guedes, Vanessa Maria Paletta; Gomes, Carlos Eduardo de Mello; Chaoubah, Alfredo

    2016-01-01

    Abstract Background: The aim of this study is to determine the most cost-effective strategy for the treatment of primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) in Brazil, from the payer's perspective (Brazilian Public Health System) in the setting of the Glaucoma Referral Centers. Methods: Study design was a cost-effectiveness analysis of different treatment strategies for POAG. We developed 3 Markov models (one for each glaucoma stage: early, moderate and advanced), using a hypothetical cohort of POAG patients, from the perspective of the Brazilian Public Health System (SUS) and a horizon of the average life expectancy of the Brazilian population. Different strategies were tested according to disease severity. For early glaucoma, we compared observation, laser and medications. For moderate glaucoma, medications, laser and surgery. For advanced glaucoma, medications and surgery. Main outcome measures were ICER (incremental cost-effectiveness ratio), medical direct costs and QALY (quality-adjusted life year). Results: In early glaucoma, both laser and medical treatment were cost-effective (ICERs of initial laser and initial medical treatment over observation only, were R$ 2,811.39/QALY and R$ 3,450.47/QALY). Compared to observation strategy, the two alternatives have provided significant gains in quality of life. In moderate glaucoma population, medical treatment presented the highest costs among treatment strategies. Both laser and surgery were highly cost-effective in this group. For advanced glaucoma, both tested strategies were cost-effective. Starting age had a great impact on results in all studied groups. Initiating glaucoma therapy using laser or surgery were more cost-effective, the younger the patient. Conclusion: All tested treatment strategies for glaucoma provided real gains in quality of life and were cost-effective. However, according to the disease severity, not all strategies provided the same cost-effectiveness profile. Based on our findings, there should be a

  13. A cost-effectiveness analysis of hormone replacement therapy in the menopause.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheung, A P; Wren, B G

    1992-03-02

    To evaluate the cost-effectiveness of hormone replacement therapy in the menopause with particular reference to osteoporotic fracture and myocardial infarction. The multiple-decrement form of the life table was the mathematical model used to follow women of age 50 through their lifetime under the "no hormone replacement" and "hormone replacement" assumptions. Standard demographic and health economic techniques were used to calculate the corresponding lifetime differences in direct health care costs (net costs in dollars) and health effects ("net effectiveness" in terms of life expectancy and quality, in "quality-adjusted life-years"). This was then expressed as a cost-effectiveness ratio or the cost ($) per quality-adjusted life-year (QALY) for each of the chosen hormone replacement regimens. All women of age 50 in New South Wales, Australia (n = 27,021). The analysis showed that the lifetime net increments in direct medical care costs were largely contributed by hormone drug and consultation costs. Hormone replacement was associated with increased quality-adjusted life expectancy, a large percentage of which was attributed to a relief of menopausal symptoms. Cost-effectiveness ratios ranged from under 10,000 to over a million dollars per QALY. Factors associated with improved cost-effectiveness were prolonged treatment duration, the presence of menopausal symptoms, minimum progestogen side effects (in the case of oestrogen with progestogen regimens), oestrogen use after hysterectomy and the inclusion of cardiac benefits in addition to fracture prevention. Hormone replacement therapy for symptomatic women is cost-effective when factors that enhance its efficiency are considered. Short-term treatment of asymptomatic women for prevention of osteoporotic fractures and myocardial infarction is an inefficient use of health resources. Cost-effectiveness of hormone replacement in asymptomatic women is dependent on the magnitude of cardiac benefits associated with hormone

  14. Is aggressive treatment of traumatic brain injury cost-effective?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Whitmore, Robert G; Thawani, Jayesh P; Grady, M Sean; Levine, Joshua M; Sanborn, Matthew R; Stein, Sherman C

    2012-05-01

    The object of this study was to determine whether aggressive treatment of severe traumatic brain injury (TBI), including invasive intracranial monitoring and decompressive craniectomy, is cost-effective. A decision-analytical model was created to compare costs, outcomes, and cost-effectiveness of 3 strategies for treating a patient with severe TBI. The aggressive-care approach is compared with "routine care," in which Brain Trauma Foundation guidelines are not followed. A "comfort care" category, in which a single day in the ICU is followed by routine floor care, is included for comparison only. Probabilities of each treatment resulting in various Glasgow Outcome Scale (GOS) scores were obtained from the literature. The GOS scores were converted to quality-adjusted life years (QALYs), based on expected longevity and calculated quality of life associated with each GOS category. Estimated direct (acute and long-term medical care) and indirect (loss of productivity) costs were calculated from the perspective of society. Sensitivity analyses employed a 2D Monte Carlo simulation of 1000 trials, each with 1000 patients. The model was also used to estimate these values for patients 40, 60, and 80 years of age. For the average 20-year-old, aggressive care yields 11.7 (± 1.6 [SD]) QALYs, compared with routine care (10.0 ± 1.5 QALYs). This difference is highly significant (p care remains significantly better at all ages. When all costs are considered, aggressive care is also significantly less costly than routine care ($1,264,000 ± $118,000 vs $1,361,000 ± $107,000) for the average 20-year-old. Aggressive care remains significantly less costly until age 80, at which age it costs more than routine care. However, even in the 80-year-old, aggressive care is likely the more cost-effective approach. Comfort care is associated with poorer outcomes at all ages and with higher costs for all groups except 80-year-olds. When all the costs of severe TBI are considered, aggressive

  15. Cost effectiveness of teratology counseling - the Motherisk experience.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koren, Gideon; Bozzo, Pina

    2014-01-01

    While the benefits of evidence-based counseling to large numbers of women and physicians are intuitively evident, there is an urgent need to document that teratology counseling, in addition to improving the quality of life of women and families, also leads to cost saving. The objective of the present study was to calculate the cost effectiveness of the Motherisk Program, a large teratology information and counseling service at The Hospital for Sick Children and the University of Toronto. We analyzed data from the Motherisk Program on its 2012 activities in two domains: 1) Calculation of cost-saving in preventing unjustified pregnancy terminations; and 2) prevention of major birth defects. Cost of pregnancy termination and lifelong cost of specific birth defects were identified from primary literature and prorated for cost of living for the year 2013. Prevention of 255 pregnancy terminations per year led to cost savings of $516,630. The total estimated number of major malformations prevented by Motherisk counseling in 2012 was 8.41 cases at a total estimated cost of $9,032,492. With an estimated minimum annual prevention of 8 major malformations, and numerous unnecessary terminations of otherwise- wanted pregnancies, a cost saving of $10 million can be calculated. In 2013 the operating budget of Motherisk counseling totaled $640,000. Even based on the narrow range of activities for which we calculated cost, this service is highly cost- effective. Because most teratology counseling services are operating in a very similar method to Motherisk, it is fair to assume that these results, although dependent on the size of the service, are generalizable to other countries.

  16. Limitations of acceptability curves for presenting uncertainty in cost-effectiveness analysis

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Groot Koerkamp, Bas; Hunink, M. G. Myriam; Stijnen, Theo; Hammitt, James K.; Kuntz, Karen M.; Weinstein, Milton C.

    2007-01-01

    Clinical journals increasingly illustrate uncertainty about the cost and effect of health care interventions using cost-effectiveness acceptability curves (CEACs). CEACs present the probability that each competing alternative is optimal for a range of values of the cost-effectiveness threshold. The

  17. Cost-effectiveness of a Nutrition Education Curriculum Intervention in Elementary Schools.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Graziose, Matthew M; Koch, Pamela A; Wang, Y Claire; Lee Gray, Heewon; Contento, Isobel R

    2017-09-01

    To estimate the long-term cost-effectiveness of an obesity prevention nutrition education curriculum (Food, Health, & Choices) as delivered to all New York City fifth-grade public school students over 1 year. This study is a standard cost-effectiveness analysis from a societal perspective, with a 3% discount rate and a no-intervention comparator, as recommended by the US Panel on Cost-effectiveness in Health and Medicine. Costs of implementation, administration, and future obesity-related medical costs were included. Effectiveness was based on a cluster-randomized, controlled trial in 20 public schools during the 2012-2013 school year and linked to published estimates of childhood-to-adulthood body mass index trajectories using a decision analytic model. The Food, Health, & Choices intervention was estimated to cost $8,537,900 and result in 289 fewer males and 350 fewer females becoming obese (0.8% of New York City fifth-grade public school students), saving 1,599 quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) and $8,098,600 in direct medical costs. Food, Health, & Choices is predicted to be cost-effective at $275/QALY (95% confidence interval, -$2,576/QALY to $2,084/QALY) with estimates up to $6,029/QALY in sensitivity analyses. This cost-effectiveness model suggests that a nutrition education curriculum in public schools is effective and cost-effective in reducing childhood obesity, consistent with the authors' hypothesis and previous literature. Future research should assess the feasibility and sustainability of scale-up. Copyright © 2016 Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  18. Cost-Effectiveness of Intensive versus Standard Blood-Pressure Control.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bress, Adam P; Bellows, Brandon K; King, Jordan B; Hess, Rachel; Beddhu, Srinivasan; Zhang, Zugui; Berlowitz, Dan R; Conroy, Molly B; Fine, Larry; Oparil, Suzanne; Morisky, Donald E; Kazis, Lewis E; Ruiz-Negrón, Natalia; Powell, Jamie; Tamariz, Leonardo; Whittle, Jeff; Wright, Jackson T; Supiano, Mark A; Cheung, Alfred K; Weintraub, William S; Moran, Andrew E

    2017-08-24

    In the Systolic Blood Pressure Intervention Trial (SPRINT), adults at high risk for cardiovascular disease who received intensive systolic blood-pressure control (target, control (target, costs associated with intensive control versus standard control. We used a microsimulation model to apply SPRINT treatment effects and health care costs from national sources to a hypothetical cohort of SPRINT-eligible adults. The model projected lifetime costs of treatment and monitoring in patients with hypertension, cardiovascular disease events and subsequent treatment costs, treatment-related risks of serious adverse events and subsequent costs, and quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) for intensive control versus standard control of systolic blood pressure. We determined that the mean number of QALYs would be 0.27 higher among patients who received intensive control than among those who received standard control and would cost approximately $47,000 more per QALY gained if there were a reduction in adherence and treatment effects after 5 years; the cost would be approximately $28,000 more per QALY gained if the treatment effects persisted for the remaining lifetime of the patient. Most simulation results indicated that intensive treatment would be cost-effective (51 to 79% below the willingness-to-pay threshold of $50,000 per QALY and 76 to 93% below the threshold of $100,000 per QALY), regardless of whether treatment effects were reduced after 5 years or persisted for the remaining lifetime. In this simulation study, intensive systolic blood-pressure control prevented cardiovascular disease events and prolonged life and did so at levels below common willingness-to-pay thresholds per QALY, regardless of whether benefits were reduced after 5 years or persisted for the patient's remaining lifetime. (Funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute and others; SPRINT ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01206062 .).

  19. Environmental damage costs from airborne pollution of industrial activities in the greater Athens, Greece area and the resulting benefits from the introduction of BAT

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mirasgedis, S.; Hontou, V.; Georgopoulou, E.; Sarafidis, Y.; Gakis, N.; Lalas, D.P.; Loukatos, A.; Gargoulas, N.; Mentzis, A.; Economidis, D.; Triantafilopoulos, T.; Korizi, K.; Mavrotas, G.

    2008-01-01

    Attributing costs to the environmental impacts associated with industrial activities can greatly assist in protecting human health and the natural environment as monetary values are capable of directly influencing technological and policy decisions without changing the rules of the market. This paper attempts to estimate the external cost attributable to the atmospheric pollution from 'medium and high environmental burden' industrial activities located in the greater Athens area and the benefits from Best Available Techniques (BAT) introduction. To this end a number of typical installations were defined to be used in conjunction with the Impact Pathway Approach developed in the context of the ExternE project to model all industrial sectors/sub-sectors located in the area of interest. Total environmental externalities due to air pollutants emitted by these industrial activities were found to reach 211 M Euro per year, associated mainly with human mortality and morbidity due to PM 10 emissions, as well as with climate change impacts due to CO 2 emissions for which non-metallic minerals and oil processing industries are the main sources. The results obtained can be used as the basis for an integrated evaluation of potential BAT, taking into account not only private costs and benefits but also the environmental externalities, thus leading to policy decisions that maximize social welfare in each industrial sector/sub-sector

  20. Cost-effectiveness of diagnostic for malaria in Extra-Amazon Region, Brazil

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    de Oliveira Maria Regina F

    2012-11-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Rapid diagnostic tests (RDT for malaria have been demonstrated to be effective and they should replace microscopy in certain areas. Method The cost-effectiveness of five RDT and thick smear microscopy was estimated and compared. Data were collected on Brazilian Extra-Amazon Region. Data sources included the National Malaria Control Programme of the Ministry of Health, the National Healthcare System reimbursement table, laboratory suppliers and scientific literature. The perspective was that of the Brazilian public health system, the analytical horizon was from the start of fever until the diagnostic results provided to patient and the temporal reference was that of year 2010. Two costing methods were produced, based on exclusive-use microscopy or shared-use microscopy. The results were expressed in costs per adequately diagnosed cases in 2010 U.S. dollars. One-way sensitivity analysis was performed considering key model parameters. Results In the cost-effectiveness analysis with exclusive-use microscopy, the RDT CareStart™ was the most cost-effective diagnostic strategy. Microscopy was the most expensive and most effective, with an additional case adequately diagnosed by microscopy costing US$ 35,550.00 in relation to CareStart™. In opposite, in the cost-effectiveness analysis with shared-use microscopy, the thick smear was extremely cost-effective. Introducing into the analytic model with shared-use microscopy a probability for individual access to the diagnosis, assuming a probability of 100% of access for a public health system user to any RDT and, hypothetically, of 85% of access to microscopy, this test saw its effectiveness reduced and was dominated by the RDT CareStart™. Conclusion The analysis of cost-effectiveness of malaria diagnosis technologies in the Brazilian Extra-Amazon Region depends on the exclusive or shared use of the microscopy. Following the assumptions of this study, shared-use microscopy would be

  1. Predictive value and cost-effectiveness analysis of a rapid polymerase chain reaction for preoperative detection of nasal carriage of Staphylococcus aureus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shrestha, Nabin K; Shermock, Kenneth M; Gordon, Steven M; Tuohy, Marion J; Wilson, Deborah A; Cwynar, Roberta E; Banbury, Michael K; Longworth, David L; Isada, Carlos M; Mawhorter, Steven D; Procop, Gary W

    2003-05-01

    To determine the accuracy and cost-effectiveness of a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for detecting nasal carriage of Staphylococcus aureus directly from clinical specimens. CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY: This occurred in a tertiary-care hospital in Cleveland, Ohio, and included 239 consecutive patients who were scheduled for a cardiothoracic surgical procedure. Conventional cultures and a PCR for S. aureus from nasal swabs were used as measurements. COST-EFFECTIVENESS ANALYSIS: Data sources were market prices and Bureau of Labor Statistics. The time horizon was the maximum period for availability of culture results (3 days). Interventions included universal mupirocin therapy without testing; initial therapy, with termination if PCR negative (treat-PCR); initial therapy, with termination if culture negative (treat-culture); treat PCR-positive carriers (PCR-guided treatment); and treat culture-positive carriers (culture-guided treatment). The perspective was institutional and costs and the length of time to treatment were outcome measures. Sixty-seven (28%) of the 239 swabs grew S. aureus. Rapid PCR was 97.0% sensitive and 97.1% specific for the detection of S. aureus. For populations with prevalences of nasal S. aureus carriage of up to 50%, the PCR assay had negative predictive values of greater than 97%. PCR-guided treatment had the lowest incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (1.93 dollars per additional day compared with the culture strategy). Among immediate treatment strategies, treat-PCR was most cost-effective. The universal therapy strategy cost 38.19 dollars more per additional day gained with carrier identification compared with the PCR strategy. Rapid real-time PCR is an accurate, rapid, and cost-effective method for identifying S. aureus carriers for preoperative intervention.

  2. The 5-year cost-effectiveness of two-level anterior cervical discectomy and fusion or cervical disc replacement: a Markov analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Overley, Samuel C; McAnany, Steven J; Brochin, Robert L; Kim, Jun S; Merrill, Robert K; Qureshi, Sheeraz A

    2018-01-01

    61.5% of the time by the simulation. Two-level CDR and ACDF are both cost-effective strategies at 5 years. Neither strategy was found to be more cost-effective with an ICER greater than the $50,000/QALY WTP threshold. The assumptions used in the analysis were strongly validated with the results of the PSA. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  3. Cost-effectiveness of treatment strategies for BRAF-mutated metastatic melanoma.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Patti Curl

    Full Text Available Genetically-targeted therapies are both promising and costly advances in the field of oncology. Several treatments for metastatic melanoma with a mutation in the BRAF gene have been approved. They extend life but are more expensive than the previous standard of care (dacarbazine. Vemurafenib, the first drug in this class, costs $13,000 per month ($207,000 for a patient with median survival. Patients failing vemurafenib are often given ipilimumab, an immunomodulator, at $150,000 per course. Assessment of cost-effectiveness is a valuable tool to help navigate the transition toward targeted cancer therapy.We performed a cost-utility analysis to compare three strategies for patients with BRAF+ metastatic melanoma using a deterministic expected-value decision tree model to calculate the present value of lifetime costs and quality-adjusted life years (QALYs for each strategy. We performed sensitivity analyses on all variables.In the base case, the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER for vemurafenib compared with dacarbazine was $353,993 per QALY gained (0.42 QALYs added, $156,831 added. The ICER for vemurafenib followed by ipilimumab compared with vemurafenib alone was $158,139. In sensitivity analysis, treatment cost had the largest influence on results: the ICER for vemurafenib versus dacarbazine dropped to $100,000 per QALY gained with a treatment cost of $3600 per month.The cost per QALY gained for treatment of BRAF+ metastatic melanoma with vemurafenib alone or in combination exceeds widely-cited thresholds for cost-effectiveness. These strategies may become cost-effective with lower drug prices or confirmation of a durable response without continued treatment.

  4. Cost effective waste management through composting in Africa

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Couth, R.; Trois, C.

    2012-01-01

    Highlights: ► The financial/social/institutional sustainability of waste management in Africa is analysed. ► This note is a compendium of a study on the potential for GHG control via improved zero waste in Africa. ► This study provides the framework for Local Authorities for realizing sustained GHG reductions. - Abstract: Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions per person from urban waste management activities are greater in sub-Saharan African countries than in other developing countries, and are increasing as the population becomes more urbanised. Waste from urban areas across Africa is essentially dumped on the ground and there is little control over the resulting gas emissions. The clean development mechanism (CDM), from the 1997 Kyoto Protocol has been the vehicle to initiate projects to control GHG emissions in Africa. However, very few of these projects have been implemented and properly registered. A much more efficient and cost effective way to control GHG emissions from waste is to stabilise the waste via composting and to use the composted material as a soil improver/organic fertiliser or as a component of growing media. Compost can be produced by open windrow or in-vessel composting plants. This paper shows that passively aerated open windrows constitute an appropriate low-cost option for African countries. However, to provide an usable compost material it is recommended that waste is processed through a materials recovery facility (MRF) before being composted. The paper demonstrates that material and biological treatment (MBT) are viable in Africa where they are funded, e.g. CDM. However, they are unlikely to be instigated unless there is a replacement to the Kyoto Protocol, which ceases for Registration in December 2012.

  5. Cost-effectiveness of aliskiren in type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and albuminuria

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Delea, Thomas E; Sofrygin, Oleg; Palmer, James L

    2009-01-01

    2 diabetes, hypertension, and albuminuria. The cost-effectiveness of this therapy, however, is unknown. Here, we used a Markov model to project progression to ESRD, life years, quality-adjusted life years, and lifetime costs for aliskiren plus losartan versus losartan. We used data from the AVOID...... health care costs increased by $2952, reflecting the higher pharmacy costs of aliskiren and losartan ($7769), which were partially offset by savings in costs of ESRD ($4860). We estimated the cost-effectiveness of aliskiren to be $30,500 per quality-adjusted life year gained. In conclusion, adding...... aliskiren to losartan and optimal therapy in patients with type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and albuminuria may be cost-effective from a US health care system perspective....

  6. Cost-effectiveness of particle therapy : Current evidence and future needs

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Pijls-Johannesma, Madelon; Pommier, Pascal; Lievens, Yolande

    2008-01-01

    Purpose: Questions are being raised regarding the cost of particle therapy (PT), and with them criticism that PT is too expensive to allow the expected gain in effectiveness. This paper aims to get more insight in the cost and cost-effectiveness of particle therapy and to discuss a future strategy

  7. Cost-effectiveness of particle therapy : Current evidence and future needs

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Pijls-Johannesma, Madelon; Pommier, Pascal; Lievens, Yolande

    Purpose: Questions are being raised regarding the cost of particle therapy (PT), and with them criticism that PT is too expensive to allow the expected gain in effectiveness. This paper aims to get more insight in the cost and cost-effectiveness of particle therapy and to discuss a future strategy

  8. Investment Success in Public Health: An Analysis of the Cost-Effectiveness and Cost-Benefit of the Global Programme to Eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bettis, Alison A.; Chu, Brian K.; McFarland, Deborah A.; Hooper, Pamela J.; Mante, Sunny D.; Fitzpatrick, Christopher; Bradley, Mark H.

    2017-01-01

    Abstract Background. It has been estimated that $154 million per year will be required during 2015–2020 to continue the Global Programme to Eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis (GPELF). In light of this, it is important to understand the program’s current value. Here, we evaluate the cost-effectiveness and cost-benefit of the preventive chemotherapy that was provided under the GPELF between 2000 and 2014. In addition, we also investigate the potential cost-effectiveness of hydrocele surgery. Methods. Our economic evaluation of preventive chemotherapy was based on previously published health and economic impact estimates (between 2000 and 2014). The delivery costs of treatment were estimated using a model developed by the World Health Organization. We also developed a model to investigate the number of disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) averted by a hydrocelectomy and identified the cost threshold under which it would be considered cost-effective. Results. The projected cost-effectiveness and cost-benefit of preventive chemotherapy were very promising, and this was robust over a wide range of costs and assumptions. When the economic value of the donated drugs was not included, the GPELF would be classed as highly cost-effective. We projected that a typical hydrocelectomy would be classed as highly cost-effective if the surgery cost less than $66 and cost-effective if less than $398 (based on the World Bank’s cost-effectiveness thresholds for low income countries). Conclusions. Both the preventive chemotherapy and hydrocele surgeries provided under the GPELF are incredibly cost-effective and offer a very good investment in public health. PMID:27956460

  9. Cost and effectiveness of radon barrier systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Baker, E.G.; Freeman, H.D.; Hartley, J.N.; Gee, G.W.

    1982-12-01

    Earthen, asphalt, and multilayer radon barrier systems can all provide reduction in the amount of radon gas released from uranium mill tailings. Pacific Northwest Laboratory field tested all three types of covers at Grand Junction, Colorado during the summer of 1981. All nine individual radon barrier systems tested currently meet the EPA standard for radon flux of 20 pCi m - 2 s - 1 . The cost of the asphalt and 3m earthen covers were about the same at the field test. Multilayer covers were significantly more costly. Cost estimates for three high priority western sites indicate 3m of earthen cover is the least costly radon barrier when earthen material is available at or near the disposal site. If earthen material must be imported more than 8 to 10 km asphalt and possibly multilayer radon barriers can be cost effective

  10. Cost-effectiveness of different strategies to manage patients with sciatica.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fitzsimmons, Deborah; Phillips, Ceri J; Bennett, Hayley; Jones, Mari; Williams, Nefyn; Lewis, Ruth; Sutton, Alex; Matar, Hosam E; Din, Nafees; Burton, Kim; Nafees, Sadia; Hendry, Maggie; Rickard, Ian; Wilkinson, Claire

    2014-07-01

    The aim of this paper is to estimate the relative cost-effectiveness of treatment regimens for managing patients with sciatica. A deterministic model structure was constructed based on information from the findings from a systematic review of clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness, published sources of unit costs, and expert opinion. The assumption was that patients presenting with sciatica would be managed through one of 3 pathways (primary care, stepped approach, immediate referral to surgery). Results were expressed as incremental cost per patient with symptoms successfully resolved. Analysis also included incremental cost per utility gained over a 12-month period. One-way sensitivity analyses were used to address uncertainty. The model demonstrated that none of the strategies resulted in 100% success. For initial treatments, the most successful regime in the first pathway was nonopioids, with a probability of success of 0.613. In the second pathway, the most successful strategy was nonopioids, followed by biological agents, followed by epidural/nerve block and disk surgery, with a probability of success of 0.996. Pathway 3 (immediate surgery) was not cost-effective. Sensitivity analyses identified that the use of the highest cost estimates results in a similar overall picture. While the estimates of cost per quality-adjusted life year are higher, the economic model demonstrated that stepped approaches based on initial treatment with nonopioids are likely to represent the most cost-effective regimens for the treatment of sciatica. However, development of alternative economic modelling approaches is required. Copyright © 2014 International Association for the Study of Pain. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  11. Effect of facility on the operative costs of distal radius fractures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mather, Richard C; Wysocki, Robert W; Mack Aldridge, J; Pietrobon, Ricardo; Nunley, James A

    2011-07-01

    The purpose of this study was to investigate whether ambulatory surgery centers can deliver lower-cost care and to identify sources of those cost savings. We performed a cost identification analysis of outpatient volar plating for closed distal radius fractures at a single academic medical center. Multiple costs and time measures were taken from an internal database of 130 consecutive patients and were compared by venue of treatment, either an inpatient facility or an ambulatory, stand-alone surgery facility. The relationships between total cost and operative time and multiple variables, including fracture severity, patient age, gender, comorbidities, use of bone graft, concurrent carpal tunnel release, and surgeon experience, were examined, using multivariate analysis and regression modeling to identify other cost drivers or explanatory variables. The mean operative cost was considerably greater at the inpatient facility ($7,640) than at the outpatient facility ($5,220). Cost drivers of this difference were anesthesia services, post-anesthesia care unit, and operating room costs. Total surgical time, nursing time, set-up, and operative times were 33%, 109%, 105%, and 35% longer, respectively, at the inpatient facility. There was no significant difference between facilities for the additional variables, and none of those variables independently affected cost or operative time. The only predictor of cost and time was facility type. This study supports the use of ambulatory stand-alone surgical facilities to achieve efficient resource utilization in the operative treatment of distal radius fractures. We also identified several specific costs and time measurements that differed between facilities, which can serve as potential targets for tertiary facilities to improve utilization. Economic and Decisional Analysis III. Copyright © 2011 American Society for Surgery of the Hand. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  12. Cost-effectiveness analysis of pneumococcal vaccination for infants in China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maurer, Kristin A; Chen, Huey-Fen; Wagner, Abram L; Hegde, Sonia T; Patel, Tejasi; Boulton, Matthew L; Hutton, David W

    2016-12-07

    Although China has a high burden of pneumococcal disease among young children, the government does not administer publicly-funded pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCV) through its Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI). We evaluated the cost-effectiveness of publicly-funded PCV-7, PCV-10, and PCV-13 vaccination programs for infants in China. Using a Markov model, we simulated a cohort of 16 million Chinese infants to estimate the impact of PCV-7, PCV-10, and PCV-13 vaccination programs from a societal perspective. We extrapolated health states to estimate the effects of the programs over the course of a lifetime of 75years. Parameters in the model were derived from a review of the literature. We found that PCV-7, PCV-10, and PCV-13 vaccination programs would be cost-effective compared to no vaccination. However, PCV-13 had the lowest incremental cost-effectiveness ratio ($11,464/QALY vs $16,664/QALY for PCV-10 and $18,224/QALY for PCV-7) due to a reduction in overall costs. Our sensitivity analysis revealed that the incremental cost-effectiveness ratios were most sensitive to the utility of acute otitis media, the cost of PCV-13, and the incidence of pneumonia and acute otitis media. The Chinese government should take steps to reduce the burden of pneumococcal diseases among young children through the inclusion of a pneumococcal conjugate vaccine in its EPI. Although all vaccinations would be cost-effective, PCV-13 would save more costs to the healthcare system and would be the preferred strategy. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. The cost effectiveness of pandemic influenza interventions: a pandemic severity based analysis.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    George J Milne

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: The impact of a newly emerged influenza pandemic will depend on its transmissibility and severity. Understanding how these pandemic features impact on the effectiveness and cost effectiveness of alternative intervention strategies is important for pandemic planning. METHODS: A cost effectiveness analysis of a comprehensive range of social distancing and antiviral drug strategies intended to mitigate a future pandemic was conducted using a simulation model of a community of ∼30,000 in Australia. Six pandemic severity categories were defined based on case fatality ratio (CFR, using data from the 2009/2010 pandemic to relate hospitalisation rates to CFR. RESULTS: Intervention strategies combining school closure with antiviral treatment and prophylaxis are the most cost effective strategies in terms of cost per life year saved (LYS for all severity categories. The cost component in the cost per LYS ratio varies depending on pandemic severity: for a severe pandemic (CFR of 2.5% the cost is ∼$9 k per LYS; for a low severity pandemic (CFR of 0.1% this strategy costs ∼$58 k per LYS; for a pandemic with very low severity similar to the 2009 pandemic (CFR of 0.03% the cost is ∼$155 per LYS. With high severity pandemics (CFR >0.75% the most effective attack rate reduction strategies are also the most cost effective. During low severity pandemics costs are dominated by productivity losses due to illness and social distancing interventions, while for high severity pandemics costs are dominated by hospitalisation costs and productivity losses due to death. CONCLUSIONS: The most cost effective strategies for mitigating an influenza pandemic involve combining sustained social distancing with the use of antiviral agents. For low severity pandemics the most cost effective strategies involve antiviral treatment, prophylaxis and short durations of school closure; while these are cost effective they are less effective than other strategies in

  14. The Cost Effectiveness of Pandemic Influenza Interventions: A Pandemic Severity Based Analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Milne, George J.; Halder, Nilimesh; Kelso, Joel K.

    2013-01-01

    Background The impact of a newly emerged influenza pandemic will depend on its transmissibility and severity. Understanding how these pandemic features impact on the effectiveness and cost effectiveness of alternative intervention strategies is important for pandemic planning. Methods A cost effectiveness analysis of a comprehensive range of social distancing and antiviral drug strategies intended to mitigate a future pandemic was conducted using a simulation model of a community of ∼30,000 in Australia. Six pandemic severity categories were defined based on case fatality ratio (CFR), using data from the 2009/2010 pandemic to relate hospitalisation rates to CFR. Results Intervention strategies combining school closure with antiviral treatment and prophylaxis are the most cost effective strategies in terms of cost per life year saved (LYS) for all severity categories. The cost component in the cost per LYS ratio varies depending on pandemic severity: for a severe pandemic (CFR of 2.5%) the cost is ∼$9 k per LYS; for a low severity pandemic (CFR of 0.1%) this strategy costs ∼$58 k per LYS; for a pandemic with very low severity similar to the 2009 pandemic (CFR of 0.03%) the cost is ∼$155 per LYS. With high severity pandemics (CFR >0.75%) the most effective attack rate reduction strategies are also the most cost effective. During low severity pandemics costs are dominated by productivity losses due to illness and social distancing interventions, while for high severity pandemics costs are dominated by hospitalisation costs and productivity losses due to death. Conclusions The most cost effective strategies for mitigating an influenza pandemic involve combining sustained social distancing with the use of antiviral agents. For low severity pandemics the most cost effective strategies involve antiviral treatment, prophylaxis and short durations of school closure; while these are cost effective they are less effective than other strategies in reducing the

  15. Estimating long-term clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of HPV 16/18 vaccine in China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Qian; Liu, Yi-Jun; Hu, Shang-Ying; Zhao, Fang-Hui

    2016-11-04

    Human papillomavirus (HPV) 16 and 18 are the two most common HPV oncogenic types that can be prevented by vaccination. This study aimed at assessing the cost-effectiveness of 3 doses of the bivalent HPV vaccine in rural and urban settings in China. A Markov model was adapted to reflect the lifetime of a modelled 100,000 12-year-old girls cohort in rural and urban settings in China. Input parameters were obtained from published literature, official reports and a two-round expert review panel. Clinical and economic outcomes of vaccination at age 12 with screening was compared to screening only. In the base case analysis, a 3 % discount rate, the vaccine cost of 247 CNY (US$ 39, PAHO vaccine cost in 2013), two rounds of screening in a life time and 70 % coverage for both screening and vaccination were used. One-way, two-way and probabilistic sensitivity analyses were performed. We used different thresholds of cost-effectiveness to reflect the diversity of economic development in China. Vaccination in addition to screening could prevent 60 % more cervical cancer cases and deaths than screening only. The incremental cost effectiveness ratio varied largely when changing cost of vaccination and discount in one way analysis. Vaccination was very cost-effective when the vaccine cost ranged 87-630 CNY (US$ 13.8-100) in rural and 87-750 CNY (US$ 13.8-119) in urban; and remained cost-effective when the vaccine cost ranged 630-1,700 CNY (US$ 100-270) in rural and 750-1,900 CNY (US$ 119-302) in urban in two way analysis. Probabilistic sensitivity analyses showed that model results were robust. In both rural and urban, the vaccination cost and discounting are important factors determining the cost-effectiveness of HPV vaccination; policy makers in China should take these into account when making a decision on the introduction of HPV vaccine. In areas with a high burden of cervical cancer and limited screening activities, HPV vaccination should be prioritized. However, the vaccine

  16. [Threshold value for reimbursement of costs of new drugs: cost-effectiveness research and modelling are essential links].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frederix, Geert W J; Hövels, Anke M; Severens, Johan L; Raaijmakers, Jan A M; Schellens, Jan H M

    2015-01-01

    There is increasing discussion in the Netherlands about the introduction of a threshold value for the costs per extra year of life when reimbursing costs of new drugs. The Medicines Committee ('Commissie Geneesmiddelen'), a division of the Netherlands National Healthcare Institute ('Zorginstituut Nederland'), advises on reimbursement of costs of new drugs. This advice is based upon the determination of therapeutic value of the drug and the results of economic evaluations. Mathematical models that predict future costs and effectiveness are often used in economic evaluations; these models can vary greatly in transparency and quality due to author assumptions. Standardisation of cost-effectiveness models is one solution to overcome the unwanted variation in quality. Discussions about the introduction of a threshold value can only be meaningful if all involved are adequately informed, and by high quality in cost-effectiveness research and, particularly, economic evaluations. Collaboration and discussion between medical specialists, patients or patient organisations, health economists and policy makers, both in development of methods and in standardisation, are essential to improve the quality of decision making.

  17. Pursuing Photovoltaic Cost-Effectiveness

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Yang, Yongheng; Koutroulis, Eftichios; Sangwongwanich, Ariya

    2017-01-01

    loading of the power devices. However, its feasibility is challenged by the associated energy losses. An increase of the inverter lifetime and a reduction of the energy yield can alter the cost of energy, demanding an optimization of the power limitation. Therefore, aiming at minimizing the Levelized Cost...... be flexibly performed. As an advanced control strategy, the Absolute Active Power Control (AAPC) can effectively solve the overloading issues by limiting the maximum possible PV power to a certain level (i.e., the power limitation), and also benefit the inverter reliability due to the reduction in the thermal...... performance in terms of LCOE and energy production can be obtained by enabling the AAPC strategy, compared to the conventional PV inverter operating only in the maximum power point tracking mode. In the presented case study, the minimum of the LCOE is achieved for the PV system when the power limit...

  18. Societal Implications of Health Insurance Coverage for Medically Necessary Services in the U.S. Transgender Population: A Cost-Effectiveness Analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Padula, William V; Heru, Shiona; Campbell, Jonathan D

    2016-04-01

    Recently, the Massachusetts Group Insurance Commission (GIC) prioritized research on the implications of a clause expressly prohibiting the denial of health insurance coverage for transgender-related services. These medically necessary services include primary and preventive care as well as transitional therapy. To analyze the cost-effectiveness of insurance coverage for medically necessary transgender-related services. Markov model with 5- and 10-year time horizons from a U.S. societal perspective, discounted at 3% (USD 2013). Data on outcomes were abstracted from the 2011 National Transgender Discrimination Survey (NTDS). U.S. transgender population starting before transitional therapy. No health benefits compared to health insurance coverage for medically necessary services. This coverage can lead to hormone replacement therapy, sex reassignment surgery, or both. Cost per quality-adjusted life year (QALY) for successful transition or negative outcomes (e.g. HIV, depression, suicidality, drug abuse, mortality) dependent on insurance coverage or no health benefit at a willingness-to-pay threshold of $100,000/QALY. Budget impact interpreted as the U.S. per-member-per-month cost. Compared to no health benefits for transgender patients ($23,619; 6.49 QALYs), insurance coverage for medically necessary services came at a greater cost and effectiveness ($31,816; 7.37 QALYs), with an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) of $9314/QALY. The budget impact of this coverage is approximately $0.016 per member per month. Although the cost for transitions is $10,000-22,000 and the cost of provider coverage is $2175/year, these additional expenses hold good value for reducing the risk of negative endpoints--HIV, depression, suicidality, and drug abuse. Results were robust to uncertainty. The probabilistic sensitivity analysis showed that provider coverage was cost-effective in 85% of simulations. Health insurance coverage for the U.S. transgender population is affordable

  19.  Cost-effectiveness of medicine vs. endoscopy for dyspeptic patients

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kjeldsen, Hans Christian; Lauritzen, Torsten; Christensen, Bo

      Background: Decision analyses conclude that empirical anti-secretory therapy is more cost-effective than endoscopy for managing patients with dyspepsia however RCTs including economic evaluation come to diverging results Aim: to compare the cost-effectiveness of two strategies for management.......   Results The incremental cost effectiveness (CE) ratio for one day free of dyspeptic symptoms using the endoscopy strategy was €/day 300 compared with the PPI strategy. The incremental CE ratio for one patient free of dyspeptic symptoms after one year using the endoscopy strategy was € 13,600 based....... The empirical PPI strategy was hence the more cost-effective strategy for managing patients with dyspepsia in general practice especially if reflux was the predominant symptom.  ...

  20. Effects of independently altering body weight and body mass on the metabolic cost of running.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Teunissen, Lennart P J; Grabowski, Alena; Kram, Rodger

    2007-12-01

    The metabolic cost of running is substantial, despite the savings from elastic energy storage and return. Previous studies suggest that generating vertical force to support body weight and horizontal forces to brake and propel body mass are the major determinants of the metabolic cost of running. In the present study, we investigated how independently altering body weight and body mass affects the metabolic cost of running. Based on previous studies, we hypothesized that reducing body weight would decrease metabolic rate proportionally, and adding mass and weight would increase metabolic rate proportionally. Further, because previous studies show that adding mass alone does not affect the forces generated on the ground, we hypothesized that adding mass alone would have no substantial effect on metabolic rate. We manipulated the body weight and body mass of 10 recreational human runners and measured their metabolic rates while they ran at 3 m s(-1). We reduced weight using a harness system, increased mass and weight using lead worn about the waist, and increased mass alone using a combination of weight support and added load. We found that net metabolic rate decreased in less than direct proportion to reduced body weight, increased in slightly more than direct proportion to added load (added mass and weight), and was not substantially different from normal running with added mass alone. Adding mass alone was not an effective method for determining the metabolic cost attributable to braking/propelling body mass. Runners loaded with mass alone did not generate greater vertical or horizontal impulses and their metabolic costs did not substantially differ from those of normal running. Our results show that generating force to support body weight is the primary determinant of the metabolic cost of running. Extrapolating our reduced weight data to zero weight suggests that supporting body weight comprises at most 74% of the net cost of running. However, 74% is probably an

  1. Clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of treatments for patients with chronic pain.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Turk, Dennis C

    2002-01-01

    Chronic pain is a prevalent and costly problem. This review addresses the question of the clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of the most common treatments for patients with chronic pain. Representative published studies that evaluate the clinical effectiveness of pharmacological treatments, conservative (standard) care, surgery, spinal cord stimulators, implantable drug delivery systems (IDDSs), and pain rehabilitation programs (PRPs) are examined and compared. The cost-effectiveness of these treatment approaches is also considered. Outcome criteria including pain reduction, medication use, health care consumption, functional activities, and closure of disability compensation cases are examined. In addition to clinical effectiveness, the cost-effectiveness of PRPs, conservative care, surgery, spinal cord stimulators, and IDDSs are compared using costs to return a treated patient to work to illustrate the relative expenses for each of these treatments. There are limitations to the success of all the available treatments. The author urges caution in interpreting the results, particularly in comparisons between treatments and across studies, because there are broad differences in the pain syndromes and inclusion criteria used, the drug dosages, comparability of treatments, the definition of "chronic" used, the outcome criteria selected to determine success, and societal differences. None of the currently available treatments eliminates pain for the majority of patients. Pain rehabilitation programs provide comparable reduction in pain to alternative pain treatment modalities, but with significantly better outcomes for medication use, health care utilization, functional activities, return to work, closure of disability claims, and with substantially fewer iatrogenic consequences and adverse events. Surgery, spinal cord stimulators, and IDDSs appear to have substantial benefits on some outcome criteria for carefully selected patients. These modalities are

  2. Cost Effectiveness Analysis of Optimal Malaria Control Strategies in Kenya

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gabriel Otieno

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available Malaria remains a leading cause of mortality and morbidity among the children under five and pregnant women in sub-Saharan Africa, but it is preventable and controllable provided current recommended interventions are properly implemented. Better utilization of malaria intervention strategies will ensure the gain for the value for money and producing health improvements in the most cost effective way. The purpose of the value for money drive is to develop a better understanding (and better articulation of costs and results so that more informed, evidence-based choices could be made. Cost effectiveness analysis is carried out to inform decision makers on how to determine where to allocate resources for malaria interventions. This study carries out cost effective analysis of one or all possible combinations of the optimal malaria control strategies (Insecticide Treated Bednets—ITNs, Treatment, Indoor Residual Spray—IRS and Intermittent Preventive Treatment for Pregnant Women—IPTp for the four different transmission settings in order to assess the extent to which the intervention strategies are beneficial and cost effective. For the four different transmission settings in Kenya the optimal solution for the 15 strategies and their associated effectiveness are computed. Cost-effective analysis using Incremental Cost Effectiveness Ratio (ICER was done after ranking the strategies in order of the increasing effectiveness (total infections averted. The findings shows that for the endemic regions the combination of ITNs, IRS, and IPTp was the most cost-effective of all the combined strategies developed in this study for malaria disease control and prevention; for the epidemic prone areas is the combination of the treatment and IRS; for seasonal areas is the use of ITNs plus treatment; and for the low risk areas is the use of treatment only. Malaria transmission in Kenya can be minimized through tailor-made intervention strategies for malaria control

  3. Health economic modeling of the potential cost saving effects of Neurally Adjusted Ventilator Assist.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hjelmgren, Jonas; Bruce Wirta, Sara; Huetson, Pernilla; Myrén, Karl-Johan; Göthberg, Sylvia

    2016-02-01

    Asynchrony between patient and ventilator breaths is associated with increased duration of mechanical ventilation (MV). Neurally Adjusted Ventilatory Assist (NAVA) controls MV through an esophageal reading of diaphragm electrical activity via a nasogastric tube mounted with electrode rings. NAVA has been shown to decrease asynchrony in comparison to pressure support ventilation (PSV). The objective of this study was to conduct a health economic evaluation of NAVA compared with PSV. We developed a model based on an indirect link between improved synchrony with NAVA versus PSV and fewer days spent on MV in synchronous patients. Unit costs for MV were obtained from the Swedish intensive care unit register, and used in the model along with NAVA-specific costs. The importance of each parameter (proportion of asynchronous patients, costs, and average MV duration) for the overall results was evaluated through sensitivity analyses. Base case results showed that 21% of patients ventilated with NAVA were asynchronous versus 52% of patients receiving PSV. This equals an absolute difference of 31% and an average of 1.7 days less on MV and a total cost saving of US$7886 (including NAVA catheter costs). A breakeven analysis suggested that NAVA was cost effective compared with PSV given an absolute difference in the proportion of asynchronous patients greater than 2.5% (49.5% versus 52% asynchronous patients with NAVA and PSV, respectively). The base case results were stable to changes in parameters, such as difference in asynchrony, duration of ventilation and daily intensive care unit costs. This study showed economically favorable results for NAVA versus PSV. Our results show that only a minor decrease in the proportion of asynchronous patients with NAVA is needed for investments to pay off and generate savings. Future studies need to confirm this result by directly relating improved synchrony to the number of days on MV. © The Author(s), 2015.

  4. Cost effectiveness of haemophilia treatment : a cross-national assessment

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Lippert, B; Berger, K; Berntorp, E; Giangrande, P; van den Berg, M; Schramm, W; Siebert, U

    2005-01-01

    The aim of this study was to assess the incremental cost effectiveness of on-demand versus prophylactic haemophilia therapy in Germany, Sweden, the United Kingdom and The Netherlands from the third-party payers' perspective. Using a decision tree model, the cost effectiveness of on-demand versus

  5. Cost-effectiveness analysis of infant feeding strategies to prevent ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Changing feeding practices is beneficial, depending on context. Breastfeeding is dominant (less costly, more effective) in rural settings, whilst formula feeding is a dominant strategy in urban settings. Cost-effectiveness was most sensitive to proportion of women on lifelong antiretroviral therapy (ART) and infant mortality rate ...

  6. Planning for greater confinement disposal

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gilbert, T.L.; Luner, C.; Meshkov, N.K.; Trevorrow, L.E.; Yu, C.

    1985-01-01

    A report that provides guidance for planning for greater-confinement disposal (GCD) of low-level radioactive waste is being prepared. The report addresses procedures for selecting a GCD technology and provides information for implementing these procedures. The focus is on GCD; planning aspects common to GCD and shallow-land burial are covered by reference. Planning procedure topics covered include regulatory requirements, waste characterization, benefit-cost-risk assessment and pathway analysis methodologies, determination of need, waste-acceptance criteria, performance objectives, and comparative assessment of attributes that support these objectives. The major technologies covered include augered shafts, deep trenches, engineered structures, hydrofracture, improved waste forms, and high-integrity containers. Descriptive information is provided, and attributes that are relevant for risk assessment and operational requirements are given. 10 refs., 3 figs., 2 tabs

  7. Effectiveness, cost-effectiveness and cost-benefit of a single annual professional intervention for the prevention of childhood dental caries in a remote rural Indigenous community.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lalloo, Ratilal; Kroon, Jeroen; Tut, Ohnmar; Kularatna, Sanjeewa; Jamieson, Lisa M; Wallace, Valda; Boase, Robyn; Fernando, Surani; Cadet-James, Yvonne; Scuffham, Paul A; Johnson, Newell W

    2015-08-29

    The aim of the study is to reduce the high prevalence of tooth decay in children in a remote, rural Indigenous community in Australia, by application of a single annual dental preventive intervention. The study seeks to (1) assess the effectiveness of an annual oral health preventive intervention in slowing the incidence of dental caries in children in this community, (2) identify the mediating role of known risk factors for dental caries and (3) assess the cost-effectiveness and cost-benefit of the intervention. The intervention is novel in that most dental preventive interventions require regular re-application, which is not possible in resource constrained communities. While tooth decay is preventable, self-care and healthy habits are lacking in these communities, placing more emphasis on health services to deliver an effective dental preventive intervention. Importantly, the study will assess cost-benefit and cost-effectiveness for broader implementation across similar communities in Australia and internationally. There is an urgent need to reduce the burden of dental decay in these communities, by implementing effective, cost-effective, feasible and sustainable dental prevention programs. Expected outcomes of this study include improved oral and general health of children within the community; an understanding of the costs associated with the intervention provided, and its comparison with the costs of allowing new lesions to develop, with associated treatment costs. Findings should be generalisable to similar communities around the world. The research is registered with the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ANZCTR), registration number ACTRN12615000693527; date of registration: 3rd July 2015.

  8. Cost-effectiveness analysis of optimal strategy for tumor treatment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pang, Liuyong; Zhao, Zhong; Song, Xinyu

    2016-01-01

    We propose and analyze an antitumor model with combined immunotherapy and chemotherapy. Firstly, we explore the treatment effects of single immunotherapy and single chemotherapy, respectively. Results indicate that neither immunotherapy nor chemotherapy alone are adequate to cure a tumor. Hence, we apply optimal theory to investigate how the combination of immunotherapy and chemotherapy should be implemented, for a certain time period, in order to reduce the number of tumor cells, while minimizing the implementation cost of the treatment strategy. Secondly, we establish the existence of the optimality system and use Pontryagin’s Maximum Principle to characterize the optimal levels of the two treatment measures. Furthermore, we calculate the incremental cost-effectiveness ratios to analyze the cost-effectiveness of all possible combinations of the two treatment measures. Finally, numerical results show that the combination of immunotherapy and chemotherapy is the most cost-effective strategy for tumor treatment, and able to eliminate the entire tumor with size 4.470 × 10"8 in a year.

  9. Implementation and Operational Research: A Cost-Effective, Clinically Actionable Strategy for Targeting HIV Preexposure Prophylaxis to High-Risk Men Who Have Sex With Men.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ross, Eric L; Cinti, Sandro K; Hutton, David W

    2016-07-01

    Preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is effective at preventing HIV infection among men who have sex with men (MSM), but there is uncertainty about how to identify high-risk MSM who should receive PrEP. We used a mathematical model to assess the cost-effectiveness of using the HIV Incidence Risk Index for MSM (HIRI-MSM) questionnaire to target PrEP to high-risk MSM. We simulated strategies of no PrEP, PrEP available to all MSM, and eligibility thresholds set to HIRI-MSM scores between 5 and 45, in increments of 5 (where a higher score predicts greater HIV risk). Based on the iPrEx, IPERGAY, and PROUD trials, we evaluated PrEP efficacies from 44% to 86% and annual costs from $5900 to 8700. We designate strategies with incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) ≤$100,000/quality-adjusted life-year (QALY) as "cost-effective." Over 20 years, making PrEP available to all MSM is projected to prevent 33.5% of new HIV infections, with an ICER of $1,474,000/QALY. Increasing the HIRI-MSM score threshold reduces the prevented infections, but improves cost-effectiveness. A threshold score of 25 is projected to be optimal (most QALYs gained while still being cost-effective) over a wide range of realistic PrEP efficacies and costs. At low cost and high efficacy (IPERGAY), thresholds of 15 or 20 are optimal across a range of other input assumptions; at high cost and low efficacy (iPrEx), 25 or 30 are generally optimal. The HIRI-MSM provides a clinically actionable means of guiding PrEP use. Using a score of 25 to determine PrEP eligibility could facilitate cost-effective use of PrEP among high-risk MSM who will benefit from it most.

  10. Investment Success in Public Health: An Analysis of the Cost-Effectiveness and Cost-Benefit of the Global Programme to Eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Turner, Hugo C; Bettis, Alison A; Chu, Brian K; McFarland, Deborah A; Hooper, Pamela J; Mante, Sunny D; Fitzpatrick, Christopher; Bradley, Mark H

    2017-03-15

    It has been estimated that $154 million per year will be required during 2015-2020 to continue the Global Programme to Eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis (GPELF). In light of this, it is important to understand the program's current value. Here, we evaluate the cost-effectiveness and cost-benefit of the preventive chemotherapy that was provided under the GPELF between 2000 and 2014. In addition, we also investigate the potential cost-effectiveness of hydrocele surgery. Our economic evaluation of preventive chemotherapy was based on previously published health and economic impact estimates (between 2000 and 2014). The delivery costs of treatment were estimated using a model developed by the World Health Organization. We also developed a model to investigate the number of disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) averted by a hydrocelectomy and identified the cost threshold under which it would be considered cost-effective. The projected cost-effectiveness and cost-benefit of preventive chemotherapy were very promising, and this was robust over a wide range of costs and assumptions. When the economic value of the donated drugs was not included, the GPELF would be classed as highly cost-effective. We projected that a typical hydrocelectomy would be classed as highly cost-effective if the surgery cost less than $66 and cost-effective if less than $398 (based on the World Bank's cost-effectiveness thresholds for low income countries). Both the preventive chemotherapy and hydrocele surgeries provided under the GPELF are incredibly cost-effective and offer a very good investment in public health. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press for the Infectious Diseases Society of America.

  11. Assessing the Battery Cost at Which Plug-In Hybrid Medium-Duty Parcel Delivery Vehicles Become Cost-Effective

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ramroth, L. A.; Gonder, J. D.; Brooker, A. D.

    2013-04-01

    The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) validated diesel-conventional and diesel-hybrid medium-duty parcel delivery vehicle models to evaluate petroleum reductions and cost implications of hybrid and plug-in hybrid diesel variants. The hybrid and plug-in hybrid variants are run on a field data-derived design matrix to analyze the effect of drive cycle, distance, engine downsizing, battery replacements, and battery energy on fuel consumption and lifetime cost. For an array of diesel fuel costs, the battery cost per kilowatt-hour at which the hybridized configuration becomes cost-effective is calculated. This builds on a previous analysis that found the fuel savings from medium duty plug-in hybrids more than offset the vehicles' incremental price under future battery and fuel cost projections, but that they seldom did so under present day cost assumptions in the absence of purchase incentives. The results also highlight the importance of understanding the application's drive cycle specific daily distance and kinetic intensity.

  12. Sunk costs equal sunk boats? The effect of entry costs in a transboundary sequential fishery

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Punt, M. J.

    2017-01-01

    that for other fisheries substantial sunk investments are needed. In this paper I investigate the effect of such sunk entry costs in a sequential fisheries. I model the uncertainty as a shock to the stock dependent fishing costs, in a two player game, where one of the players faces sunk entry costs. I find that......, depending on parameters, sunk costs can i) increase the competitive pressure on the fish stock compared to a game where entry is free ii) act as a deterrence mechanism and iii) act as a commitment device. I conclude that entry costs can play a crucial role because they can change the outcome of the game...

  13. Cost-effectiveness of posaconazole versus fluconazole or itraconazole in the prevention of invasive fungal infections among high-risk neutropenic patients in Spain

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Grau Santiago

    2012-04-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background We evaluated the cost-effectiveness of posaconazole compared with standard azole therapy (SAT; fluconazole or itraconazole for the prevention of invasive fungal infections (IFI and the reduction of overall mortality in high-risk neutropenic patients with acute myelogenous leukaemia (AML or myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS. The perspective was that of the Spanish National Health Service (NHS. Methods A decision-analytic model, based on a randomised phase III trial, was used to predict IFI avoided, life-years saved (LYS, total costs, and incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER; incremental cost per LYS over patients' lifetime horizon. Data for the analyses included life expectancy, procedures, and costs associated with IFI and the drugs (in euros at November 2009 values which were obtained from the published literature and opinions of an expert committee. A probabilistic sensitivity analysis (PAS was performed. Results Posaconazole was associated with fewer IFI (0.05 versus 0.11, increased LYS (2.52 versus 2.43, and significantly lower costs excluding costs of the underlying condition (€6,121 versus €7,928 per patient relative to SAT. There is an 85% probability that posaconazole is a cost-saving strategy compared to SAT and a 97% probability that the ICER for posaconazole relative to SAT is below the cost per LYS threshold of €30,000 currently accepted in Spain. Conclusions Posaconazole is a cost-saving prophylactic strategy (lower costs and greater efficacy compared with fluconazole or itraconazole in high-risk neutropenic patients.

  14. The value-based medicine comparative effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of penetrating keratoplasty for keratoconus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roe, Richard H; Lass, Jonathan H; Brown, Gary C; Brown, Melissa M

    2008-10-01

    To perform a base case, comparative effectiveness, and cost-effectiveness (cost-utility) analysis of penetrating keratoplasty for patients with severe keratoconus. Visual acuity data were obtained from a large, retrospective multicenter study in which patients with keratoconus with less than 20/40 best corrected visual acuity and/or the inability to wear contact lenses underwent penetrating keratoplasty, with an average follow-up of 2.1 years. The results were combined with other retrospective studies investigating complication rates of penetrating keratoplasty. The data were then incorporated into a cost-utility model using patient preference-based, time trade-off utilities, computer-based decision analysis, and a net present value model to account for the time value of outcomes and money. The comparative effectiveness of the intervention is expressed in quality-of-life gain and QALYs (quality-adjusted life-years), and the cost-effectiveness results are expressed in the outcome of $/QALY (dollars spent per QALY). Penetrating keratoplasty in 1 eye for patients with severe keratoconus results in a comparative effectiveness (value gain) of 16.5% improvement in quality of life every day over the 44-year life expectancy of the average patient with severe keratoconus. Discounting the total value gain of 5.36 QALYs at a 3% annual discount rate yields 3.05 QALYs gained. The incremental cost for penetrating keratoplasty, including all complications, is $5934 ($5913 discounted at 3% per year). Thus, the incremental cost-utility (discounted at 3% annually) for this intervention is $5913/3.05 QALYs = $1942/QALY. If both eyes undergo corneal transplant, the total discounted value gain is 30% and the overall cost-utility is $2003. Surgery on the second eye confers a total discounted value gain of 2.5 QALYs, yielding a quality-of-life gain of 11.6% and a discounted cost-utility of $2238/QALY. Penetrating keratoplasty for patients with severe keratoconus seems to be a

  15. Effect of obesity on cost per quality-adjusted life years gained following anterior cervical discectomy and fusion in elective degenerative pathology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chotai, Silky; Sielatycki, J Alex; Parker, Scott L; Sivaganesan, Ahilan; Kay, Harrison L; Stonko, David P; Wick, Joseph B; McGirt, Matthew J; Devin, Clinton J

    2016-11-01

    Obese patients have greater comorbidities along with higher risk of complications and greater costs after spine surgery, which may result in increased cost and lower quality of life compared with their non-obese counterparts. The aim of the present study was to determine cost-utility following anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) in obese patients. This study analyzed prospectively collected data. Patients undergoing elective ACDF for degenerative cervical pathology at a single academic institution were included in the study. Cost and quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) were the outcome measures. One- and two-year medical resource utilization, missed work, and health state values (QALYs) were assessed. Two-year resource use was multiplied by unit costs based on Medicare national payment amounts (direct cost). Patient and caregiver workday losses were multiplied by the self-reported gross-of-tax wage rate (indirect cost). Total cost (direct+indirect) was used to compute cost per QALY gained. Patients were defined as obese for body mass index (BMI) ≥35 based on the WHO definition of class II obesity. A subgroup analysis was conducted in morbidly obese patients (BMI≥40). There were significant improvements in pain (neck pain or arm pain), disability (Neck Disability Index), and quality of life (EuroQol-5D and Short Form-12) at 2 years after surgery (pdirect cost, indirect cost, and total cost between obese and non-obese patients at postoperative 1-year and 2-year follow-up. Mean 2-year direct cost for obese patients was $19,225±$8,065 and $17,635±$6,413 for non-obese patients (p=.14). There was no significant difference in the mean total 2-year cost between obese ($23,144±$9,216) and non-obese ($22,183±$10,564) patients (p=.48). Obese patients had a lower mean cumulative gain in QALYs versus non-obese patients at 2-years (0.34 vs. 0.42, p=.32). Two-year cost-utility in obese ($68,070/QALY) versus non-obese patients ($52,816/QALY) was not

  16. Operating Dedicated Data Centers - Is It Cost-Effective?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ernst, M.; Hogue, R.; Hollowell, C.; Strecker-Kellog, W.; Wong, A.; Zaytsev, A.

    2014-06-01

    The advent of cloud computing centres such as Amazon's EC2 and Google's Computing Engine has elicited comparisons with dedicated computing clusters. Discussions on appropriate usage of cloud resources (both academic and commercial) and costs have ensued. This presentation discusses a detailed analysis of the costs of operating and maintaining the RACF (RHIC and ATLAS Computing Facility) compute cluster at Brookhaven National Lab and compares them with the cost of cloud computing resources under various usage scenarios. An extrapolation of likely future cost effectiveness of dedicated computing resources is also presented.

  17. Aid Effectiveness, Transaction Costs and Conditionality in the Education Sector

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ashford, Richard; Biswas, Shampa

    2010-01-01

    The reduction of transaction costs is a commonly mentioned yet rarely elaborated goal for aid effectiveness in educational development. The casual use of the concept of transaction costs conceals which costs may be reduced, which costs are required and, indeed, what transaction costs actually are. Examining issues related to harmonizing the…

  18. Cost-effectiveness of the management of rh-negative pregnant women.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Duplantie, Julie; Gonzales, Odilon Martinez; Bois, Antoine; Nshimyumukiza, Léon; Gekas, Jean; Bujold, Emmanuel; Morin, Valérie; Vallée, Maud; Giguère, Yves; Gagné, Christian; Rousseau, François; Reinharz, Daniel

    2013-08-01

    The purpose of this study was to determine the most cost-effective option to prevent alloimmunization against the Rh factor. A virtual population of Rh-negative pregnant women in Quebec was built to simulate the cost-effectiveness of preventing alloimmunization. The model considered four options: (1) systematic use of anti-D immunoglobulin; (2) fetal Rh(D) genotyping; (3) immunological determination of the father's Rh type; (4) mixed screening: immunological determination of the father's Rh type, followed if positive by fetal Rh(D) genotyping. Two outcomes were considered, in addition to the estimated costs: (1) the number of babies without hemolytic disease, and (2) the number of surviving infants. In a first pregnancy, two options emerged as the most cost-effective options: systematic prophylaxis and immunological Rh typing of the father, with overlapping confidence intervals between them. In a second pregnancy, the results were similar. In all cases (first or second pregnancy or a combination of the two) fetal genotyping was not found to be a cost-effective option. Routine prophylaxis and immunological Rh typing of the father are the most cost-effective options for the prevention of Rh alloimmunization. Considering that immunological typing of the father would probably not be carried out by the majority of clinicians, routine prophylaxis remains the preferred option. However, this could change if the cost of Rh(D) fetal genotyping fell below $140 per sample.

  19. Cost-effectiveness analysis of online hemodiafiltration versus high-flux hemodialysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ramponi F

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Francesco Ramponi,1,2 Claudio Ronco,1,3 Giacomo Mason,1 Enrico Rettore,4 Daniele Marcelli,5,6 Francesca Martino,1,3 Mauro Neri,1,7 Alejandro Martin-Malo,8 Bernard Canaud,5,9 Francesco Locatelli10 1International Renal Research Institute (IRRIV, San Bortolo Hospital, Vicenza, 2Department of Economics and Management, University of Padova, Padova, 3Department of Nephrology, San Bortolo Hospital, Vicenza, 4Department of Sociology and Social Research, University of Trento, FBK-IRVAPP & IZA, Trento, Italy; 5Europe, Middle East, Africa and Latin America Medical Board, Fresenius Medical Care,, Bad Homburg, Germany; 6Danube University, Krems, Austria; 7Department of Management and Engineering, University of Padova, Vicenza, Italy; 8Nephrology Unit, Reina Sofia University Hospital, Córdoba, Spain; 9School of Medicine, Montpellier University, Montpellier, France; 10Department of Nephrology, Manzoni Hospital, Lecco, Italy Background: Clinical studies suggest that hemodiafiltration (HDF may lead to better clinical outcomes than high-flux hemodialysis (HF-HD, but concerns have been raised about the cost-effectiveness of HDF versus HF-HD. Aim of this study was to investigate whether clinical benefits, in terms of longer survival and better health-related quality of life, are worth the possibly higher costs of HDF compared to HF-HD.Methods: The analysis comprised a simulation based on the combined results of previous published studies, with the following steps: 1 estimation of the survival function of HF-HD patients from a clinical trial and of HDF patients using the risk reduction estimated in a meta-analysis; 2 simulation of the survival of the same sample of patients as if allocated to HF-HD or HDF using three-state Markov models; and 3 application of state-specific health-related quality of life coefficients and differential costs derived from the literature. Several Monte Carlo simulations were performed, including simulations for patients with different

  20. [Comparative Cost Effectiveness of Clostridium Histolyticum Collagenase (Xiapex®) and Partial Fasciectomy for the Treatment of Dupuytren's Contracture in Austria].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Neuwirth, M; Binter, A; Pipam, W; Rab, M

    2016-08-01

    Since Dupuytren's contracture is a common disorder, the costs for its surgical treatment impose a considerable burden on the healthcare system. For the first time in the German-speaking area, this study aimed to provide a comparative cost-effectiveness analysis for partial fasciectomy vs. treatment with Clostridium histolyticum collagenase (CCH). A retrospective monocentric study of the period from 2012 to 2014 comprised 40 patients with previously untreated Dupuytren's contracture of one finger. 20 outpatients received one CCH treatment (Group 1), while 20 inpatients underwent partial fasciectomy (Group 2). The direct pre-interventional treatment and post-interventional costs were compared. The direct post-interventional and postoperative results were comparable. Group 1 (CCH) showed a mean reduction in contracture of 96.4%; in Group 2 (partial fasciectomy), this was 97.7%. There were fewer complications in Group 1 than in Group 2. Mean treatment costs in Group 1 were € 1 458.60 and in Group 2, € 5 315.20. Treatment with CCH is more cost effective than with partial fasciectomy. This is due to greater costs for personnel, time and surgical material, as well as the treatment of the more frequent complications in Group 2. Despite the limited comparability, our findings are consistent with the present international literature. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

  1. Cost-effectiveness of cervical-cancer screening in five developing countries.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goldie, Sue J; Gaffikin, Lynne; Goldhaber-Fiebert, Jeremy D; Gordillo-Tobar, Amparo; Levin, Carol; Mahé, Cédric; Wright, Thomas C

    2005-11-17

    Cervical-cancer screening strategies that involve the use of conventional cytology and require multiple visits have been impractical in developing countries. We used computer-based models to assess the cost-effectiveness of a variety of cervical-cancer screening strategies in India, Kenya, Peru, South Africa, and Thailand. Primary data were combined with data from the literature to estimate age-specific incidence and mortality rates for cancer and the effectiveness of screening for and treatment of precancerous lesions. We assessed the direct medical, time, and program-related costs of strategies that differed according to screening test, targeted age and frequency, and number of clinic visits required. Single-visit strategies involved the assumption that screening and treatment could be provided in the same day. Outcomes included the lifetime risk of cancer, years of life saved, lifetime costs, and cost-effectiveness ratios (cost per year of life saved). The most cost-effective strategies were those that required the fewest visits, resulting in improved follow-up testing and treatment. Screening women once in their lifetime, at the age of 35 years, with a one-visit or two-visit screening strategy involving visual inspection of the cervix with acetic acid or DNA testing for human papillomavirus (HPV) in cervical cell samples, reduced the lifetime risk of cancer by approximately 25 to 36 percent, and cost less than 500 dollars per year of life saved. Relative cancer risk declined by an additional 40 percent with two screenings (at 35 and 40 years of age), resulting in a cost per year of life saved that was less than each country's per capita gross domestic product--a very cost-effective result, according to the Commission on Macroeconomics and Health. Cervical-cancer screening strategies incorporating visual inspection of the cervix with acetic acid or DNA testing for HPV in one or two clinical visits are cost-effective alternatives to conventional three

  2. Cost-effectiveness of modern radiotherapy techniques in locally advanced pancreatic cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Murphy, James D; Chang, Daniel T; Abelson, Jon; Daly, Megan E; Yeung, Heidi N; Nelson, Lorene M; Koong, Albert C

    2012-02-15

    Radiotherapy may improve the outcome of patients with pancreatic cancer but at an increased cost. In this study, the authors evaluated the cost-effectiveness of modern radiotherapy techniques in the treatment of locally advanced pancreatic cancer. A Markov decision-analytic model was constructed to compare the cost-effectiveness of 4 treatment regimens: gemcitabine alone, gemcitabine plus conventional radiotherapy, gemcitabine plus intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT); and gemcitabine with stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT). Patients transitioned between the following 5 health states: stable disease, local progression, distant failure, local and distant failure, and death. Health utility tolls were assessed for radiotherapy and chemotherapy treatments and for radiation toxicity. SBRT increased life expectancy by 0.20 quality-adjusted life years (QALY) at an increased cost of $13,700 compared with gemcitabine alone (incremental cost-effectiveness ratio [ICER] = $69,500 per QALY). SBRT was more effective and less costly than conventional radiotherapy and IMRT. An analysis that excluded SBRT demonstrated that conventional radiotherapy had an ICER of $126,800 per QALY compared with gemcitabine alone, and IMRT had an ICER of $1,584,100 per QALY compared with conventional radiotherapy. A probabilistic sensitivity analysis demonstrated that the probability of cost-effectiveness at a willingness to pay of $50,000 per QALY was 78% for gemcitabine alone, 21% for SBRT, 1.4% for conventional radiotherapy, and 0.01% for IMRT. At a willingness to pay of $200,000 per QALY, the probability of cost-effectiveness was 73% for SBRT, 20% for conventional radiotherapy, 7% for gemcitabine alone, and 0.7% for IMRT. The current results indicated that IMRT in locally advanced pancreatic cancer exceeds what society considers cost-effective. In contrast, combining gemcitabine with SBRT increased clinical effectiveness beyond that of gemcitabine alone at a cost potentially acceptable by

  3. Strategies, technologies, and economics for managing greater-than-class C waste

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Danna, J.G.; Baird, R.D.; Chau, T.K.

    1994-01-01

    The Low-Level Radioactive Waste Policy Amendments Act 0f 1985, Public Law 99-240, transferred responsibility for disposing of Greater-Than-Class C (GTCC) low-level radioactive waste (LLW) generated by commercial licensees from the states to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). Development of permanent disposal capacity for GTCC LLW requires the evaluation of potential disposal concepts in terms of technical feasibility, economics, and institutional concerns. Previous studies have identified 13 potential GTCC LLW disposal concepts and have characterized volumes and types of GTCC LLW. Data from these studies, along with newly developed data pertaining to concept designs and hypothetical sites, were used to evaluate each concept's technical feasibility. An evaluation of the cost effectiveness of the technically feasible disposal concepts was also conducted

  4. Bioenergetic components of reproductive effort in viviparous snakes: costs of vitellogenesis exceed costs of pregnancy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Van Dyke, James U; Beaupre, Steven J

    2011-12-01

    Reproductive effort has been defined as the proportion of an organism's energy budget that is allocated to reproduction over a biologically meaningful time period. Historically, studies of reproductive bioenergetics considered energy content of gametes, but not costs of gamete production. Although metabolic costs of vitellogenesis (MCV) fundamentally reflect the primary bioenergetic cost of reproductive allocation in female reptiles, the few investigations that have considered costs of reproductive allocation have focused on metabolic costs of pregnancy (MCP) in viviparous species. We define MCP as energetic costs incurred by pregnant females, including all costs of maintaining gestation conditions necessary for embryogenesis. MCP by our definition do not include fetal costs of embryogenesis. We measured metabolic rates in five species of viviparous snakes (Agkistrodon contortrix, Boa constrictor, Eryx colubrinus, Nerodia sipedon, and Thamnophis sirtalis) during vitellogenesis and pregnancy in order to estimate MCV and MCP. Across all species, MCV were responsible for 30% increases in maternal metabolism. Phylogenetically-independent contrasts showed that MCV were significantly greater in B. constrictor than in other species, likely because B. constrictor yolk energy content was greater than that of other species. Estimates of MCP were not significantly different from zero in any species. In viviparous snakes, MCV appear to represent significant bioenergetic expenditures, while MCP do not. We suggest that MCV, together with yolk energy content, represent the most significant component of reptilian reproductive effort, and therefore deserve greater attention than MCP in studies of reptilian reproductive bioenergetics. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  5. Bevacizumab for Metastatic Colorectal Cancer: A Global Cost-Effectiveness Analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goldstein, Daniel A; Chen, Qiushi; Ayer, Turgay; Chan, Kelvin K W; Virik, Kiran; Hammerman, Ariel; Brenner, Baruch; Flowers, Christopher R; Hall, Peter S

    2017-06-01

    In the U.S., the addition of bevacizumab to first-line chemotherapy in metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) has been demonstrated to provide 0.10 quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) at an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) of $571,000/QALY. Due to variability in pricing, value for money may be different in other countries. Our objective was to establish the cost-effectiveness of bevacizumab in mCRC in the U.S., U.K., Canada, Australia, and Israel. We performed the analysis using a previously established Markov model for mCRC. Input data for efficacy, adverse events, and quality of life were considered to be generalizable and therefore identical for all countries. We used country-specific prices for medications, administration, and other health service costs. All costs were converted from local currency to U.S. dollars at the exchange rates in March 2016. We conducted one-way and probabilistic sensitivity analyses (PSA) to assess the model robustness across parameter uncertainties. Base case results demonstrated that the highest ICER was in the U.S. ($571,000/QALY) and the lowest was in Australia ($277,000/QALY). In Canada, the U.K., and Israel, ICERs ranged between $351,000 and $358,000 per QALY. PSA demonstrated 0% likelihood of bevacizumab being cost-effective in any country at a willingness to pay threshold of $150,000 per QALY. The addition of bevacizumab to first-line chemotherapy for mCRC consistently fails to be cost-effective in all five countries. There are large differences in cost-effectiveness between countries. This study provides a framework for analyzing the value of a cancer drug from the perspectives of multiple international payers. The cost-effectiveness of bevacizumab varies significantly between multiple countries. By conventional thresholds, bevacizumab is not cost-effective in metastatic colon cancer in the U.S., the U.K., Australia, Canada, and Israel. © AlphaMed Press 2017.

  6. The cost-effectiveness of psychotherapy for the major psychiatric diagnoses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lazar, Susan G

    2014-09-01

    Psychotherapy is an effective and often highly cost-effective medical intervention for many serious psychiatric conditions. Psychotherapy can also lead to savings in other medical and societal costs. It is at times the firstline and most important treatment and at other times augments the efficacy of psychotropic medication. Many patients are in need of more prolonged and intensive psychotherapy, including those with personality disorders and those with chronic complex psychiatric conditions often with severe anxiety and depression. Many patients with serious and complex psychiatric illness have experienced severe early life trauma in an atmosphere in which family members or caretakers themselves have serious psychiatric disorders. Children and adolescents with learning disabilities and those with severe psychiatric disorders can also require more than brief treatment. Other diagnostic groups for whom psychotherapy is effective and cost-effective include patients with schizophrenia, anxiety disorders (including posttraumatic stress disorder), depression, and substance abuse. In addition, psychotherapy for the medically ill with concomitant psychiatric illness often lowers medical costs, improves recovery from medical illness, and at times even prolongs life compared to similar patients not given psychotherapy. While "cost-effective" treatments can yield savings in healthcare costs, disability claims, and other societal costs, "cost-effective" by no means translates to "cheap" but instead describes treatments that are clinically effective and provided at a cost that is considered reasonable given the benefit they provide, even if the treatments increase direct expenses. In the current insurance climate in which Mental Health Parity is the law, insurers nonetheless often use their own non-research and non-clinically based medical necessity guidelines to subvert it and limit access to appropriate psychotherapeutic treatments. Many patients, especially those who need

  7. The cost of illness attributable to diabetic foot and cost-effectiveness of secondary prevention in Peru.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cárdenas, María Kathia; Mirelman, Andrew J; Galvin, Cooper J; Lazo-Porras, María; Pinto, Miguel; Miranda, J Jaime; Gilman, Robert H

    2015-10-26

    Diabetes mellitus is a public health challenge worldwide, and roughly 25% of patients with diabetes in developing countries will develop at least one foot ulcer during their lifetime. The gravest outcome of an ulcerated foot is amputation, leading to premature death and larger economic costs. This study aimed to estimate the economic costs of diabetic foot in high-risk patients in Peru in 2012 and to model the cost-effectiveness of a year-long preventive strategy for foot ulceration including: sub-optimal care (baseline), standard care as recommended by the International Diabetes Federation, and standard care plus daily self-monitoring of foot temperature. A decision tree model using a population prevalence-based approach was used to calculate the costs and the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER). Outcome measures were deaths and major amputations, uncertainty was tested with a one-way sensitivity analysis. The direct costs for prevention and management with sub-optimal care for high-risk diabetics is around US$74.5 million dollars in a single year, which decreases to US$71.8 million for standard care and increases to US$96.8 million for standard care plus temperature monitoring. The implementation of a standard care strategy would avert 791 deaths and is cost-saving in comparison to sub-optimal care. For standard care plus temperature monitoring compared to sub-optimal care the ICER rises to US$16,124 per death averted and averts 1,385 deaths. Diabetic foot complications are highly costly and largely preventable in Peru. The implementation of a standard care strategy would lead to net savings and avert deaths over a one-year period. More intensive prevention strategies such as incorporating temperature monitoring may also be cost-effective.

  8. The impact of clinical trial design on cost-effectiveness analyses: illustration from a published study of the one-touch ultrasmart blood glucose meter for insulin-using diabetes patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tunis, Sandra L; Minshall, Michael E

    2008-06-01

    One source of variation in cost-effectiveness analyses stems from the characteristics of the study upon which each is based. This report provides cost-effectiveness analyses using data from a recently published randomized clinical trial (RCT) comparing an integrated glucose meter/electronic logbook to a conventional glucose meter/paper logbook in helping to control hemoglobin A1c in type 1 or type 2 diabetes. RCT participants and health care professionals (HCPs) were "blinded" to results of meter downloads until week 16, when participants chose systems. They returned to "usual care" and could obtain meter results and share them with their HCPs. Those eligible returned 26-65 weeks later for an observational visit. The CORE Diabetes Model was used to estimate the 60-year cost-effectiveness of the electronic (vs. conventional) meter. With no price premium, the newer technology represented a dominant strategy (greater effectiveness/lower costs) based on the RCT alone or on the RCT + observational visit. With a $100.00/year premium, the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio was $28,053 based on the RCT, but the electronic monitor was dominant when simulations included observational visit results. One plausible reason for the greater benefits of the electronic monitor with the observational period included was the ability of patients and HCPs to make better clinical and lifestyle modifications based on fully available, formatted data. Because the advantages of the electronic meter are based on timely access to accurate feedback, the importance of naturalistic, unblinded studies for technology assessments can be appreciated. Addressing the methodological issues discussed here can help integrate clinical and economic outcomes for diabetes care innovations.

  9. Clinical effectiveness, tolerability and cost-effectiveness of newer drugs for epilepsy in adults: a systematic review and economic evaluation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wilby, J; Kainth, A; Hawkins, N; Epstein, D; McIntosh, H; McDaid, C; Mason, A; Golder, S; O'Meara, S; Sculpher, M; Drummond, M; Forbes, C

    2005-04-01

    AEDs or other newer AEDs. For newer AEDs versus placebo, a trend was observed in favour of newer drugs, and there was evidence of statistically significant differences in proportion of responders favouring newer drugs. However, it was not possible to assess long-term effectiveness. Most trials were conducted in patients with partial seizures. For newer AEDs versus older drugs, there was no evidence to assess the effectiveness of LEV, LTG or OXC, and evidence for other newer drugs was limited to single studies. Trials only included patients with partial seizures and follow-up was relatively short. There was no evidence to assess effectiveness of adjunctive LEV, OXC or TPM versus other newer drugs, and there were no time to event or cognitive data. No studies assessed the effectiveness of adjunctive AEDs in the elderly or pregnant women. There was some evidence from one study (GBP versus LTG) that both drugs have some beneficial effect on behaviour in people with learning disabilities. Eighty RCTs reported the incidence of adverse events. There was no consistent or convincing evidence to draw any conclusions concerning relative safety and tolerability of newer AEDs compared with each other, older AEDs or placebo. The integrated economic analysis for monotherapy for newly diagnosed patients with partial seizures showed that older AEDs were more likely to be cost-effective, although there was considerable uncertainty in these results. The integrated analysis suggested that newer AEDs used as adjunctive therapy for refractory patients with partial seizures were more effective and more costly than continuing with existing treatment alone. Combination therapy, involving new AEDs, may be cost-effective at a threshold willingness to pay per quality-adjusted life year (QALY) greater than 20,000 pounds, depending on patients' previous treatment history. There was, again, considerable uncertainty in these results. There were few data available to determine effectiveness of

  10. Long-term cost-effectiveness of disease management in systolic heart failure.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miller, George; Randolph, Stephen; Forkner, Emma; Smith, Brad; Galbreath, Autumn Dawn

    2009-01-01

    Although congestive heart failure (CHF) is a primary target for disease management programs, previous studies have generated mixed results regarding the effectiveness and cost savings of disease management when applied to CHF. We estimated the long-term impact of systolic heart failure disease management from the results of an 18-month clinical trial. We used data generated from the trial (starting population distributions, resource utilization, mortality rates, and transition probabilities) in a Markov model to project results of continuing the disease management program for the patients' lifetimes. Outputs included distribution of illness severity, mortality, resource consumption, and the cost of resources consumed. Both cost and effectiveness were discounted at a rate of 3% per year. Cost-effectiveness was computed as cost per quality-adjusted life year (QALY) gained. Model results were validated against trial data and indicated that, over their lifetimes, patients experienced a lifespan extension of 51 days. Combined discounted lifetime program and medical costs were $4850 higher in the disease management group than the control group, but the program had a favorable long-term discounted cost-effectiveness of $43,650/QALY. These results are robust to assumptions regarding mortality rates, the impact of aging on the cost of care, the discount rate, utility values, and the targeted population. Estimation of the clinical benefits and financial burden of disease management can be enhanced by model-based analyses to project costs and effectiveness. Our results suggest that disease management of heart failure patients can be cost-effective over the long term.

  11. A cost-benefit/cost-effectiveness analysis of proposed supervised injection facilities in Ottawa, Canada.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jozaghi, Ehsan; Reid, Andrew A; Andresen, Martin A; Juneau, Alexandre

    2014-08-04

    Supervised injection facilities (SIFs) are venues where people who inject drugs (PWID) have access to a clean and medically supervised environment in which they can safely inject their own illicit drugs. There is currently only one legal SIF in North America: Insite in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The responses and feedback generated by the evaluations of Insite in Vancouver have been overwhelmingly positive. This study assesses whether the above mentioned facility in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver needs to be expanded to other locations, more specifically that of Canada's capital city, Ottawa. The current study is aimed at contributing to the existing literature on health policy by conducting cost-benefit and cost-effective analyses for the opening of SIFs in Ottawa, Ontario. In particular, the costs of operating numerous SIFs in Ottawa was compared to the savings incurred; this was done after accounting for the prevention of new HIV and Hepatitis C (HCV) infections. To ensure accuracy, two distinct mathematical models and a sensitivity analysis were employed. The sensitivity analyses conducted with the models reveals the potential for SIFs in Ottawa to be a fiscally responsible harm reduction strategy for the prevention of HCV cases--when considered independently. With a baseline sharing rate of 19%, the cumulative annual cost model supported the establishment of two SIFs and the marginal annual cost model supported the establishment of a single SIF. More often, the prevention of HIV or HCV alone were not sufficient to justify the establishment cost-effectiveness; rather, only when both HIV and HCV are considered does sufficient economic support became apparent. Funded supervised injection facilities in Ottawa appear to be an efficient and effective use of financial resources in the public health domain.

  12. Clinical evaluation based on cost-effectiveness

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Inoue, Takehiro; Inoue, Toshihiko

    1998-01-01

    We carried out two Phase III clinical trials using high dose rate (HDR) remote afterloading brachytherapy unit. We evaluated the clinical results based not only on the medical but also the economical standpoint. The first trial is the Phase III trial for cervical cancer treated with HDR or medium dose rate (MDR) intracavitary radiotherapy. The second one is the Phase III trial for tongue cancer treated with HDR or low dose rate (LDR) interstitial radiation. For cervical cancer, the survival rate of patients treated with HDR brachytherapy is the some as for LDR brachytherapy. The average total cost of treatment for the HDR group was 1.47 million yen, while that for the MDR group was 1.58 million yen. The average total admission days was 63. For tongue cancer, the local control rate of the HDR group is almost the same as that of the LDR groups. The average total cost for the HDR group was 780 thousand yen, and that for the LDR group was 830 thousand yen. The average total admission days was 34. According to the cost-effectiveness, HDR brachytherapy for cervical cancer has the same result as MDR, and HDR brachytherapy for tongue cancer has the same result as LDR. However, HDR can be treated without admission for patients who live near the hospital. HDR can be applied for these patients with less expense. We must be aware of not only the medical results but also the cost-effectiveness. (author)

  13. Cost-effective climate policy in a small country

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hagem, C.

    1994-01-01

    Unilateral action to curb CO 2 emissions in a small country or a group of countries has only a limited effect on global CO 2 emissions. However, it could be a first step toward a broader climate treaty. So far, unilateral commitments have been aimed at reducing national consumption of fossil fuels. A country that produces and consumes fossil fuels can also infiuence the global CO 2 emissions by reducing its production. The estimated cost of reducing national CO 2 emissions in Norway, through a reduction infossil fuel consumption, is presented in a report from the Environmental Tax Committee (1992). In this paper, that cost is compared with an estimated cost of reducing fossil fuel production. The calculation reveals that it could be less costly to reduce the production than the consumption, given that the effect on global CO 2 emissions is identical. 23 refs., 4 tabs

  14. Effect of prospective reimbursement on nursing home costs.

    OpenAIRE

    Coburn, A F; Fortinsky, R; McGuire, C; McDonald, T P

    1993-01-01

    OBJECTIVE. This study evaluates the effect of Maine's Medicaid nursing home prospective payment system on nursing home costs and access to care for public patients. DATA SOURCES/STUDY SETTING. The implementation of a facility-specific prospective payment system for nursing homes provided the opportunity for longitudinal study of the effect of that system. Data sources included audited Medicaid nursing home cost reports, quality-of-care data from state facility survey and licensure files, and ...

  15. The Effectiveness and Cost of Lifestyle Interventions Including Nutrition Education for Diabetes Prevention: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Yu; You, Wen; Almeida, Fabio; Estabrooks, Paul; Davy, Brenda

    2017-03-01

    -dietitians, although few studies reported costs. Lifestyle interventions are effective in reducing body weight and glucose-related outcomes. Dietitian-delivered interventions, compared with those delivered by other personnel, achieved greater weight reduction. No consistent trend was identified across different delivery channels. Copyright © 2017 Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  16. Long Term Cost Efficiency through Green Management Control Systems

    OpenAIRE

    Vukania Adda, Nancy; Qin, Xiaochen

    2012-01-01

    Title: Long term cost efficiency through green management control systems.Authors: Nancy Vukania &Xiaochen QinSupervisor: Åsa Karin-EngstrandBackground: The worldwide financial crisis of 2008 has reconfigured the economic turf leading to a more uncertain and turbulent playing field – a greater challenge for business strategy and the quest for optimization- The oil price hike of 2008 (Furlong 2010)1 caused its rippling effect to affect various cost categories including energy, labor and lo...

  17. Integrated, long term, sustainable, cost effective biosolids management at a large Canadian wastewater treatment facility.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leblanc, R J; Allain, C J; Laughton, P J; Henry, J G

    2004-01-01

    The Greater Moncton Sewerage Commission's 115,000 m3/d advanced, chemically assisted primary wastewater treatment facility located in New Brunswick, Canada, has developed an integrated, long term, sustainable, cost effective programme for the management and beneficial utilization of biosolids from lime stabilized raw sludge. The paper overviews biosolids production, lime stabilization, conveyance, and odour control followed by an indepth discussion of the wastewater sludge as a resource programme, namely: composting, mine site reclamation, landfill cover, land application for agricultural use, tree farming, sod farm base as a soil enrichment, topsoil manufacturing. The paper also addresses the issues of metals, pathogens, organic compounds, the quality control program along with the regulatory requirements. Biosolids capital and operating costs are presented. Research results on removal of metals from primary sludge using a unique biological process known as BIOSOL as developed by the University of Toronto, Canada to remove metals and destroy pathogens are presented. The paper also discusses an ongoing cooperative research project with the Université de Moncton where various mixtures of plant biosolids are composted with low quality soil. Integration, approach to sustainability and "cumulative effects" as part of the overall biosolids management strategy are also discussed.

  18. The cost-effectiveness of group cognitive behavioral therapy compared with routine primary care for women with postnatal depression in the UK.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stevenson, Matt D; Scope, Alison; Sutcliffe, Paul A

    2010-08-01

    To assess the cost-effectiveness of group cognitive behavior therapy (gCBT) in comparison with routine primary care for women with postnatal depression in the UK. Our analysis was based on a systematic literature review of the relative clinical effectiveness of gCBT compared with routine primary care and further reviews, supplemented with expert opinion of the likely cost of providing gCBT and the duration of comparative advantage for gCBT. Raw data were used to estimate a statistical relationship between changes in the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Score (EPDS) values and changes in short-form six dimensions' (SF-6D) values. A mathematical model was constructed, and probabilistic sensitivity analyses were undertaken to estimate the mean cost per quality-adjusted life-year (QALY) and to evaluate the expected value of perfect information (EVPI). The mean cost per QALY from the stochastic analysis was estimated to be pound36,062; however, there was considerable uncertainty around this value. The EVPI was estimated to be greater than pound64 million; the key uncertainties were in the cost per woman of providing treatment and in the statistical relationship between changes in EPDS values and changes in SF-6D values. The expected value of perfect partial information for both of these parameters was in excess of pound25 million. Given the current information, the use of gCBT does not appear to be cost-effective; however, this decision is uncertain. The value of information analyses conducted indicates that further research to provide robust information on key parameters is needed and appears justified in cost-effective terms.

  19. Cost-Effectiveness/Cost-Benefit Analysis of Newborn Screening for Severe Combined Immune Deficiency in Washington State.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ding, Yao; Thompson, John D; Kobrynski, Lisa; Ojodu, Jelili; Zarbalian, Guisou; Grosse, Scott D

    2016-05-01

    To evaluate the expected cost-effectiveness and net benefit of the recent implementation of newborn screening (NBS) for severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) in Washington State. We constructed a decision analysis model to estimate the costs and benefits of NBS in an annual birth cohort of 86 600 infants based on projections of avoided infant deaths. Point estimates and ranges for input variables, including the birth prevalence of SCID, proportion detected asymptomatically without screening through family history, screening test characteristics, survival rates, and costs of screening, diagnosis, and treatment were derived from published estimates, expert opinion, and the Washington NBS program. We estimated treatment costs stratified by age of identification and SCID type (with or without adenosine deaminase deficiency). Economic benefit was estimated using values of $4.2 and $9.0 million per death averted. We performed sensitivity analyses to evaluate the influence of key variables on the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) of net direct cost per life-year saved. Our model predicts an additional 1.19 newborn infants with SCID detected preclinically through screening, in addition to those who would have been detected early through family history, and 0.40 deaths averted annually. Our base-case model suggests an ICER of $35 311 per life-year saved, and a benefit-cost ratio of either 5.31 or 2.71. Sensitivity analyses found ICER values <$100 000 and positive net benefit for plausible assumptions on all variables. Our model suggests that NBS for SCID in Washington is likely to be cost-effective and to show positive net economic benefit. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  20. Systemic cost-effectiveness analysis of food hazard reduction

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jensen, Jørgen Dejgård; Lawson, Lartey Godwin; Lund, Mogens

    2015-01-01

    stage are considered. Cost analyses are conducted for different risk reduction targets and for three alternative scenarios concerning the acceptable range of interventions. Results demonstrate that using a system-wide policy approach to risk reduction can be more cost-effective than a policy focusing...

  1. Cost-effectiveness of alternative changes to a national blood collection service.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Willis, S; De Corte, K; Cairns, J A; Zia Sadique, M; Hawkins, N; Pennington, M; Cho, G; Roberts, D J; Miflin, G; Grieve, R

    2018-05-16

    To evaluate the cost-effectiveness of changing opening times, introducing a donor health report and reducing the minimum inter-donation interval for donors attending static centres. Evidence is required about the effect of changes to the blood collection service on costs and the frequency of donation. This study estimated the effect of changes to the blood collection service in England on the annual number of whole-blood donations by current donors. We used donors' responses to a stated preference survey, donor registry data on donation frequency and deferral rates from the INTERVAL trial. Costs measured were those anticipated to differ between strategies. We reported the cost per additional unit of blood collected for each strategy versus current practice. Strategies with a cost per additional unit of whole blood less than £30 (an estimate of the current cost of collection) were judged likely to be cost-effective. In static donor centres, extending opening times to evenings and weekends provided an additional unit of whole blood at a cost of £23 and £29, respectively. Introducing a health report cost £130 per additional unit of blood collected. Although the strategy of reducing the minimum inter-donation interval had the lowest cost per additional unit of blood collected (£10), this increased the rate of deferrals due to low haemoglobin (Hb). The introduction of a donor health report is unlikely to provide a sufficient increase in donation frequency to justify the additional costs. A more cost-effective change is to extend opening hours for blood collection at static centres. © 2018 The Authors. Transfusion Medicine published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of British Blood Transfusion Society.

  2. Cost and cost-effectiveness of newborn home visits: findings from the Newhints cluster-randomised controlled trial in rural Ghana.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pitt, Catherine; Tawiah, Theresa; Soremekun, Seyi; ten Asbroek, Augustinus H A; Manu, Alexander; Tawiah-Agyemang, Charlotte; Hill, Zelee; Owusu-Agyei, Seth; Kirkwood, Betty R; Hanson, Kara

    2016-01-01

    Every year, 2·9 million newborn babies die worldwide. A meta-analysis of four cluster-randomised controlled trials estimated that home visits by trained community members in programme settings in Ghana and south Asia reduced neonatal mortality by 12% (95% CI 5-18). We aimed to estimate the costs and cost-effectiveness of newborn home visits in a programme setting. We prospectively collected detailed cost data alongside the Newhints trial, which tested the effect of a home-visits intervention in seven districts in rural Ghana and showed a reduction of 8% (95% CI -12 to 25%) in neonatal mortality. The intervention consisted of a package of home visits to pregnant women and their babies in the first week of life by community-based surveillance volunteers. We calculated incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs) with Monte Carlo simulation and one-way sensitivity analyses and characterised uncertainty with cost-effectiveness planes and cost-effectiveness acceptability curves. We then modelled the potential cost-effectiveness for baseline neonatal mortality rates of 20-60 deaths per 1000 livebirths with use of a meta-analysis of effectiveness estimates. In the 49 zones randomly allocated to receive the Newhints intervention, a mean of 407 (SD 18) community-based surveillance volunteers undertook home visits for 7848 pregnant women who gave birth to 7786 live babies in 2009. Annual economic cost of implementation was US$203 998, or $0·53 per person. In the base-case analysis, the Newhints intervention cost a mean of $10 343 (95% CI 2963 to -7674) per newborn life saved, or $352 (95% CI 104 to -268) per discounted life-year saved, and had a 72% chance of being highly cost effective with respect to Ghana's 2009 gross domestic product per person. Key determinants of cost-effectiveness were the discount rate, protective effectiveness, baseline neonatal mortality rate, and implementation costs. In the scenarios modelled with the meta-analysis results, the ICER

  3. Cost-effectiveness of lobectomy versus genetic testing (Afirma®) for indeterminate thyroid nodules: Considering the costs of surveillance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Balentine, Courtney J; Vanness, David J; Schneider, David F

    2018-01-01

    We evaluated whether diagnostic thyroidectomy for indeterminate thyroid nodules would be more cost-effective than genetic testing after including the costs of long-term surveillance. We used a Markov decision model to estimate the cost-effectiveness of thyroid lobectomy versus genetic testing (Afirma®) for evaluation of indeterminate (Bethesda 3-4) thyroid nodules. The base case was a 40-year-old woman with a 1-cm indeterminate nodule. Probabilities and estimates of utilities were obtained from the literature. Cost estimates were based on Medicare reimbursements with a 3% discount rate for costs and quality-adjusted life-years. During a 5-year period after the diagnosis of indeterminate thyroid nodules, lobectomy was less costly and more effective than Afirma® (lobectomy: $6,100; 4.50 quality-adjusted life- years vs Afirma®: $9,400; 4.47 quality-adjusted life-years). Only in 253 of 10,000 simulations (2.5%) did Afirma® show a net benefit at a cost-effectiveness threshold of $100,000 per quality- adjusted life-years. There was only a 0.3% probability of Afirma® being cost saving and a 14.9% probability of improving quality-adjusted life-years. Our base case estimate suggests that diagnostic lobectomy dominates genetic testing as a strategy for ruling out malignancy of indeterminate thyroid nodules. These results, however, were highly sensitive to estimates of utilities after lobectomy and living under surveillance after Afirma®. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  4. Cost-effectiveness of Bariatric Surgery in Adolescents With Obesity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Klebanoff, Matthew J; Chhatwal, Jagpreet; Nudel, Jacob D; Corey, Kathleen E; Kaplan, Lee M; Hur, Chin

    2017-02-01

    Severe obesity affects 4% to 6% of US youth and is increasing in prevalence. Bariatric surgery for the treatment of adolescents with severe obesity is becoming more common, but data on cost-effectiveness are limited. To assess the cost-effectiveness of bariatric surgery for adolescents with obesity using recently published results from the Teen-Longitudinal Assessment of Bariatric Surgery study. A state-transition model was constructed to compare 2 strategies: no surgery and bariatric surgery. In the no surgery strategy, patients remained at their initial body mass index (calculated as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared) over time. In the bariatric surgery strategy, patients were subjected to risks of perioperative mortality and complications as well as initial morbidity but also experienced longer-term quality-of-life improvements associated with weight loss. Cohort demographic information-of the 228 patients included, the mean (SD) age was 17 (1.6) years, the mean (range) body mass index was 53 (34-88), and 171 (75.0%) were female-surgery-related outcomes, and base case time horizon (3 years) were based on data from the Teen-Longitudinal Assessment of Bariatric Surgery study. One-way and probabilistic sensitivity analyses were performed. Quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs), total costs (in US dollars adjusted to 2015-year values using the Consumer Price Index), and incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs). A willingness-to-pay threshold of $100 000 per QALY was used to assess cost-effectiveness. After 3 years, surgery led to a gain of 0.199 QALYs compared with no surgery at an incremental cost of $30 747, yielding an unfavorable ICER of $154 684 per QALY. When the clinical study results were extrapolated to 4 years, the ICER decreased to $114 078 per QALY and became cost-effective by 5 years with an ICER of $91 032 per QALY. Outcomes were robust in most 1-way and probabilistic sensitivity analyses. Bariatric surgery incurs

  5. COST MEASUREMENT AND COST MANAGEMENT IN TARGET COSTING

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Moisello Anna Maria

    2012-07-01

    Full Text Available Firms are coping with a competitive scenario characterized by quick changes produced by internationalization, concentration, restructuring, technological innovation processes and financial market crisis. On the one hand market enlargement have increased the number and the segmentation of customers and have raised the number of competitors, on the other hand technological innovation has reduced product life cycle. So firms have to adjust their management models to this scenario, pursuing customer satisfaction and respecting cost constraints. In a context where price is a variable fixed by the market, firms have to switch from the cost measurement logic to the cost management one, adopting target costing methodology. The target costing process is a price driven, customer oriented profit planning and cost management system. It works, in a cross functional way, from the design stage throughout all the product life cycle and it involves the entire value chain. The process implementation needs a costing methodology consistent with the cost management logic. The aim of the paper is to focus on Activity Based Costing (ABC application to target costing process. So: -it analyzes target costing logic and phases, basing on a literary review, in order to highlight the costing needs related to this process; -it shows, through a numerical example, how to structure a flexible ABC model – characterized by the separation between variable, fixed in the short and fixed costs - that effectively supports target costing process in the cost measurement phase (drifting cost determination and in the target cost alignment; -it points out the effectiveness of the Activity Based Costing as a model of cost measurement applicable to the supplier choice and as a support for supply cost management which have an important role in target costing process. The activity based information allows a firm to optimize the supplier choice by following the method of minimizing the

  6. Impact and cost-effectiveness of rotavirus vaccination in Bangladesh.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pecenka, Clint; Parashar, Umesh; Tate, Jacqueline E; Khan, Jahangir A M; Groman, Devin; Chacko, Stephen; Shamsuzzaman, Md; Clark, Andrew; Atherly, Deborah

    2017-07-13

    Diarrheal disease is a leading cause of child mortality globally, and rotavirus is responsible for more than a third of those deaths. Despite substantial decreases, the number of rotavirus deaths in children under five was 215,000 per year in 2013. Of these deaths, approximately 41% occurred in Asia and 3% of those in Bangladesh. While Bangladesh has yet to introduce rotavirus vaccination, the country applied for Gavi support and plans to introduce it in 2018. This analysis evaluates the impact and cost-effectiveness of rotavirus vaccination in Bangladesh and provides estimates of the costs of the vaccination program to help inform decision-makers and international partners. This analysis used Pan American Health Organization's TRIVAC model (version 2.0) to examine nationwide introduction of two-dose rotavirus vaccination in 2017, compared to no vaccination. Three mortality scenarios (low, high, and midpoint) were assessed. Benefits and costs were examined from the societal perspective over ten successive birth cohorts with a 3% discount rate. Model inputs were locally acquired and complemented by internationally validated estimates. Over ten years, rotavirus vaccination would prevent 4000 deaths, nearly 500,000 hospitalizations and 3 million outpatient visits in the base scenario. With a Gavi subsidy, cost/disability adjusted life year (DALY) ratios ranged from $58/DALY to $142/DALY averted. Without a Gavi subsidy and a vaccine price of $2.19 per dose, cost/DALY ratios ranged from $615/DALY to $1514/DALY averted. The discounted cost per DALY averted was less than the GDP per capita for nearly all scenarios considered, indicating that a routine rotavirus vaccination program is highly likely to be cost-effective. Even in a low mortality setting with no Gavi subsidy, rotavirus vaccination would be cost-effective. These estimates exclude the herd immunity benefits of vaccination, so represent a conservative estimate of the cost-effectiveness of rotavirus vaccination

  7. Cost-effectiveness of rotavirus vaccination in Kenya and Uganda.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sigei, Charles; Odaga, John; Mvundura, Mercy; Madrid, Yvette; Clark, Andrew David

    2015-05-07

    Rotavirus vaccines have the potential to prevent a substantial amount of life-threatening gastroenteritis in young African children. This paper presents the results of prospective cost-effectiveness analyses for rotavirus vaccine introduction for Kenya and Uganda. In each country, a national consultant worked with a national technical working group to identify appropriate data and validate study results. Secondary data on demographics, disease burden, health utilization, and costs were used to populate the TRIVAC cost-effectiveness model. The baseline analysis assumed an initial vaccine price of $0.20 per dose, corresponding to Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance stipulated copay for low-income countries. The incremental cost-effectiveness of a 2-dose rotavirus vaccination schedule was evaluated for 20 successive birth cohorts from the government perspective in both countries, and from the societal perspective in Uganda. Between 2014 and 2033, rotavirus vaccination can avert approximately 60,935 and 216,454 undiscounted deaths and hospital admissions respectively in children under 5 years in Kenya. In Uganda, the respective number of undiscounted deaths and hospital admission averted is 70,236 and 329,779 between 2016 and 2035. Over the 20-year period, the discounted vaccine program costs are around US$ 80 million in Kenya and US$ 60 million in Uganda. Discounted government health service costs avoided are US$ 30 million in Kenya and US$ 10 million in Uganda (or US$ 18 million including household costs). The cost per disability-adjusted life-year (DALY) averted from a government perspective is US$ 38 in Kenya and US$ 34 in Uganda (US$ 29 from a societal perspective). Rotavirus vaccine introduction is highly cost-effective in both countries in a range of plausible 'what-if' scenarios. The involvement of national experts improves the quality of data used, is likely to increase acceptability of the results in decision-making, and can contribute to strengthened national

  8. Priority Setting, Cost-Effectiveness, and the Affordable Care Act.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Persad, Govind

    2015-01-01

    The Affordable Care Act (ACA) may be the most important health law statute in American history, yet much of the most prominent legal scholarship examining it has focused on the merits of the court challenges it has faced rather than delving into the details of its priority-setting provisions. In addition to providing an overview of the ACA's provisions concerning priority setting and their developing interpretations, this Article attempts to defend three substantive propositions. First, I argue that the ACA is neither uniformly hostile nor uniformly friendly to efforts to set priorities in ways that promote cost and quality. Second, I argue that the ACA does not take a single, unified approach to priority setting; rather, its guidance varies depending on the aspect of the healthcare system at issue (Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute, Medicare, essential health benefits) and the factors being excluded from priority setting (age, disability, life expectancy). Third, I argue that cost-effectiveness can be achieved within the ACA's constraints, but that doing so will require adopting new approaches to cost-effectiveness and priority setting. By limiting the use of standard cost-effectiveness analysis, the ACA makes the need for workable rivals to cost-effectiveness analysis a pressing practical concern rather than a mere theoretical worry.

  9. Cost effectiveness of recombinant factor VIIa for treatment of intracerebral hemorrhage

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eckman Mark H

    2008-05-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Phase I/II placebo-controlled clinical trials of recombinant Factor VIIa (rFVIIa suggested that administration of rFVIIa within 4 hours after onset of intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH is safe, limits ICH growth, and improves outcomes. We sought to determine the cost-effectiveness of rFVIIa for acute ICH treatment, using published Phase II data. We hypothesized that rFVIIa would have a low marginal cost-effectiveness ratio (mCER given the poor neurologic outcomes after ICH with conventional management. Methods We performed an incremental cost-effectiveness analysis from the societal perspective, considering conventional management vs. 80 ug/kg rFVIIa treatment for acute ICH cases meeting Phase II inclusion criteria. The time frame for the analysis was 1. 25 years: data from the Phase II trial was used for 90 day outcomes and rFVIIa complications – arterial thromboembolic events (ATE. We assumed no substantial cost differences in care between the two strategies except: 1 cost of rFVIIa (for an 80 mcg/kg dose in an 80 kg patient, assumed cost of $6,408; 2 cost of ATE side effects from rFVIIa (which also decrease quality of life and increase the chance of death; and 3 differential monetary costs of outcomes and their impact on quality of life, including disposition (home vs. nursing home, and outpatient vs. inpatient rehabilitation. Sensitivity analyses were performed to explore uncertainty in parameter estimates, impact of rFVIIa cost, direct cost of neurologic outcomes, probability of ATE, and outcomes after ATE. Results In the "base case", treating ICH with rFVIIa dominates the usual care strategy by being more effective and less costly. rFVIIa maintained a mCER Conclusion Based on data from preliminary trials, treating selected ICH patients with rFVIIa results in lower cost and improved clinical outcomes. This potential cost-effectiveness must be considered in light of the Phase III trial results.

  10. The analysis of cost-effectiveness of implant and conventional fixed dental prosthesis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chun, June Sang; Har, Alix; Lim, Hyun-Pil; Lim, Hoi-Jeong

    2016-02-01

    This study conducted an analysis of cost-effectiveness of the implant and conventional fixed dental prosthesis (CFDP) from a single treatment perspective. The Markov model for cost-effectiveness analysis of the implant and CFDP was carried out over maximum 50 years. The probabilistic sensitivity analysis was performed by the 10,000 Monte-Carlo simulations, and cost-effectiveness acceptability curves (CEAC) were also presented. The results from meta-analysis studies were used to determine the survival rates and complication rates of the implant and CFDP. Data regarding the cost of each treatment method were collected from University Dental Hospital and Statistics Korea for 2013. Using the results of the patient satisfaction survey study, quality-adjusted prosthesis year (QAPY) of the implant and CFDP strategy was evaluated with annual discount rate. When only the direct cost was considered, implants were more cost-effective when the willingness to pay (WTP) was more than 10,000 won at 10(th) year after the treatment, and more cost-effective regardless of the WTP from 20(th) year after the prosthodontic treatment. When the indirect cost was added to the direct cost, implants were more cost-effective only when the WTP was more than 75,000 won at the 10(th) year after the prosthodontic treatment, more than 35,000 won at the 20(th) year after prosthodontic treatment. The CFDP was more cost-effective unless the WTP was more than 75,000 won at the 10(th) year after prosthodontic treatment. But the cost-effectivenss tendency changed from CFDP to implant as time passed.

  11. Effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of an awareness campaign for colorectal cancer: a mathematical modeling study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Whyte, Sophie; Harnan, Susan

    2014-06-01

    A campaign to increase the awareness of the signs and symptoms of colorectal cancer (CRC) and encourage self-presentation to a GP was piloted in two regions of England in 2011. Short-term data from the pilot evaluation on campaign cost and changes in GP attendances/referrals, CRC incidence, and CRC screening uptake were available. The objective was to estimate the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of a CRC awareness campaign by using a mathematical model which extrapolates short-term outcomes to predict long-term impacts on cancer mortality, quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs), and costs. A mathematical model representing England (aged 30+) for a lifetime horizon was developed. Long-term changes to cancer incidence, cancer stage distribution, cancer mortality, and QALYs were estimated. Costs were estimated incorporating costs associated with delivering the campaign, additional GP attendances, and changes in CRC treatment. Data from the pilot campaign suggested that the awareness campaign caused a 1-month 10 % increase in presentation rates. Based on this, the model predicted the campaign to cost £5.5 million, prevent 66 CRC deaths and gain 404 QALYs. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio compared to "no campaign" was £13,496 per QALY. Results were sensitive to the magnitude and duration of the increase in presentation rates and to disease stage. The effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of a cancer awareness campaign can be estimated based on short-term data. Such predictions will aid policy makers in prioritizing between cancer control strategies. Future cost-effectiveness studies would benefit from campaign evaluations reporting as follows: data completeness, duration of impact, impact on emergency presentations, and comparison with non-intervention regions.

  12. Cervical cancer treatment costs and cost-effectiveness analysis of human papillomavirus vaccination in Vietnam: a PRIME modeling study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Van Minh, Hoang; My, Nguyen Thi Tuyet; Jit, Mark

    2017-05-15

    Cervical cancer is currently the leading cause of cancer mortality among women in South Vietnam and the second leading cause of cancer mortality in North Vietnam. Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination has the potential to substantially decrease this burden. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that a cost-effectiveness analysis of HPV vaccination is conducted before nationwide introduction. The Papillomavirus Rapid Interface for Modeling and Economics (PRIME) model was used to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of HPV vaccine introduction. A costing study based on expert panel discussions, interviews and hospital case note reviews was conducted to explore the cost of cervical cancer care. The cost of cervical cancer treatment ranged from US$368 - 11400 depending on the type of hospital and treatment involved. Under Gavi-negotiated prices of US$4.55, HPV vaccination is likely to be very cost-effective with an incremental cost per disability-adjusted life year (DALY) averted in the range US$780 - 1120. However, under list prices for Cervarix and Gardasil in Vietnam, the incremental cost per DALY averted for HPV vaccination can exceed US$8000. HPV vaccine introduction appears to be economically attractive only if Vietnam is able to procure the vaccine at Gavi prices. This highlights the importance of initiating a nationwide vaccination programme while such prices are still available.

  13. The cost-effectiveness of therapies to treat alcohol use disorders.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rehm, J; Barbosa, C

    2018-02-01

    Alcohol use is a major risk factor for mortality and morbidity burden, and alcohol use disorders contribute markedly to this burden. Effective interventions for alcohol use disorders improve health, and are potentially cost-effective or even cost saving. Areas covered: We searched the literature for the cost-effectiveness of alcohol interventions. We included behavioral, pharmacological and combined interventions, and research from both a health care provider and a societal perspective. Overall, many economic research studies pointed towards existing cost-beneficial therapies from the perspective of a health care provider; i.e. the costs for interventions were smaller than the savings in services delivery in the years thereafter. Even if this was not the case, the interventions proved to be cost-effective with a threshold below $20,000 per quality-adjusted life year. Expert Commentary: While most of the economic research to date shows promising results, such research is relatively scarce and not always rigorous. More, and more rigorous economic research is needed to fully understand the potential impact of alcohol interventions. However, even with this research, something needs to be done to reduce stigmatization of alcohol use disorders in order to fully reap the benefits of alcohol interventions.

  14. The role of cost-effectiveness analysis in developing nutrition policy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cobiac, Linda J; Veerman, Lennert; Vos, Theo

    2013-01-01

    Concern about the overconsumption of unhealthy foods is growing worldwide. With high global rates of noncommunicable diseases related to poor nutrition and projections of more rapid increases of rates in low- and middle-income countries, it is vital to identify effective but low-cost interventions. Cost-effectiveness studies show that individually targeted dietary interventions can be effective and cost-effective, but a growing number of modeling studies suggest that population-wide approaches may bring larger and more sustained benefits for population health at a lower cost to society. Mandatory regulation of salt in processed foods, in particular, is highly recommended. Future research should focus on lacunae in the current evidence base: effectiveness of interventions addressing the marketing, availability, and price of healthy and unhealthy foods; modeling health impacts of complex dietary changes and multi-intervention strategies; and modeling health implications in diverse subpopulations to identify interventions that will most efficiently and effectively reduce health inequalities.

  15. Cost-effectiveness of hepatitis A vaccination for individuals with chronic hepatitis C.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chapko, Michael K; Yee, Helen S; Monto, Alexander; Dominitz, Jason A

    2010-02-17

    The incidence of hepatitis A infection in the United States has decreased dramatically in recent years because of childhood immunization programs. A decision analysis of the cost-effectiveness of hepatitis A vaccination for adults with hepatitis C was conducted. No vaccination strategy is cost-effective for adults with hepatitis C using the recent lower anticipated hepatitis A incidence, private sector costs, and a cost-effectiveness criterion of $100,000/QALY. Vaccination is cost-effective only for individuals who have cleared the hepatitis C virus when Department of Veterans Affairs costs are used. The recommendation to vaccinate adults with hepatitis C against hepatitis A should be reconsidered. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  16. 78 FR 6140 - Discount Rates for Cost-Effectiveness Analysis of Federal Programs

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-01-29

    ... OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET Discount Rates for Cost-Effectiveness Analysis of Federal Programs... in Appendix C are to be used for cost-effectiveness analysis, including lease-purchase analysis, as...) Discount Rates for Cost-Effectiveness, Lease Purchase, and Related Analyses Effective Dates. This appendix...

  17. Improving cost-effectiveness of hypertension management at a ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Objectives. To describe the pattern of prescribing for hypertension at a community health centre (CHC) and to evaluate the impact of introducing treatment guidelines and restricting availability of less cost-effective antihypertensive drugs on prescribing patterns, costs of drug treatment and blood pressure (BP) control. Design ...

  18. The cost-effectiveness and cost-utility of high-dose palliative radiotherapy for advanced non-small-cell lung cancer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Coy, Peter; Schaafsma, Joseph; Schofield, John A.

    2000-01-01

    Purpose: To compute cost-effectiveness/cost-utility (CE/CU) ratios, from the treatment clinic and societal perspectives, for high-dose palliative radiotherapy treatment (RT) for advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) against best supportive care (BSC) as comparator, and thereby demonstrate a method for computing CE/CU ratios when randomized clinical trial (RCT) data cannot be generated. Methods and Materials: Unit cost estimates based on an earlier reported 1989-90 analysis of treatment costs at the Vancouver Island Cancer Centre, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, are updated to 1997-1998 and then used to compute the incremental cost of an average dose of high-dose palliative RT. The incremental number of life days and quality-adjusted life days (QALDs) attributable to treatment are from earlier reported regression analyses of the survival and quality-of-life data from patients who enrolled prospectively in a lung cancer management cost-effectiveness study at the clinic over a 2-year period from 1990 to 1992. Results: The baseline CE and CU ratios are $9245 Cdn per life year (LY) and $12,836 per quality-adjusted life year (QALY), respectively, from the clinic perspective; and $12,253/LY and $17,012/QALY, respectively, from the societal perspective. Multivariate sensitivity analysis for the CE ratio produces a range of $5513-28,270/LY from the clinic perspective, and $7307-37,465/LY from the societal perspective. Similar calculations for the CU ratio produce a range of $7205-37,134/QALY from the clinic perspective, and $9550-49,213/QALY from the societal perspective. Conclusion: The cost effectiveness and cost utility of high-dose palliative RT for advanced NSCLC compares favorably with the cost effectiveness of other forms of treatment for NSCLC, of treatments of other forms of cancer, and of many other commonly used medical interventions; and lies within the US $50,000/QALY benchmark often cited for cost-effective care

  19. [Cost and effectiveness of exercise therapy for patients with essential hypertension].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harada, A; Kawakubo, K; Lee, J S; Fukuda, T; Kobayashi, Y

    2001-09-01

    While exercise therapy is established as an appropriate treatment for essential hypertension, its economic profile has not been fully evaluated. The purpose of this study is to evaluate cost and effectiveness in comparison with drug therapy. The study subjects were hypertensive patients under treatment at an outpatient clinic. Fifty-seven were selected on a non-randomized manner for exercise therapy and the same number of patients was chosen for drug therapy after matching age, sex, medication and complications. The following data were collected during three months of intervention. 1) Effectiveness: Change of systolic blood pressure before and after the intervention. 2) Cost: equipment, personnel expenses for exercise therapy and fees for health check-ups (exercise therapy); fees for consultation, laboratory examination and medications (drug therapy), 3) Cost-effectiveness: cost per 1 mmHg systolic blood pressure reduction. We evaluated the variance of cost-effectiveness by controlling the number of program participants, personnel expenses, and equipment expenses of exercise therapy. We also simulated how the cost-effectiveness of exercise therapy would improve by modifying the number of exercise participants, personnel and equipment expenses. The cost-effectiveness per 1 mmHg systolic blood pressure reduction was yen 11,268 for exercise therapy and yen 2,441 for drug therapy. Extending program facilities and increasing the number of participants would improve the cost-effectiveness of exercise therapy, but there were limitations to how far this could be achieved in the hospital setting. Differences in cost-effectiveness between exercise and drug therapies are attributed to differences in personnel expenses. Although they could be reduced by managerial effort of the hospital to some extent, outsourcing of exercise therapy to community-based facilities should be considered.

  20. A cost effective degradation-based maintenance strategy under imperfect repair

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wu, Fan; Niknam, Seyed A.; Kobza, John E.

    2015-01-01

    An optimization model is developed to minimize the total cost of imperfect degradation-based maintenance by determining an optimal interval of condition monitoring and the degradation level after imperfect preventive repairs. The decision model is based on a novel cost model that considers functional relationship between the expected degradation reduction and the cost of preventive repairs. The decision model is applied to simulated vibration signals with a variety of specifications of cost values and degradation model parameters. This study has initiated a new area for the research of cost effective maintenance strategies. The results clearly indicate the significance of the proposed model and the decision variables under the objective of minimal cost. For instance, the results indicate direct relationship between the optimal length of monitoring interval and the monitoring cost. However, longer monitoring interval increases the risk of failure, and therefore, more degradation reduction is needed. By increasing the slope of cumulative degradation, the cost effective strategy advocates taking more frequent monitoring. The optimal degradation level after each preventive repair is not so sensitive to the change in the degradation slope due to the uncertainty associated with degradation patterns. - Highlights: • Discuss the relationship of degradation reduction and maintenance cost. • Determine the optimal interval of condition monitoring with minimal cost. • Identify the optimal degradation level after imperfect preventive repairs. • Discuss the effects of change in the slope of cumulative degradation.

  1. Cost-Effective Strategies for Rural Community Outreach, Hawaii, 2010–2011

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barbato, Anna; Holuby, R. Scott; Ciarleglio, Anita E.; Taniguchi, Ronald

    2014-01-01

    Three strategies designed to maximize attendance at educational sessions on chronic disease medication safety in older adults in rural areas were implemented sequentially and compared for cost-effectiveness: 1) existing community groups and events, 2) formal advertisement, and 3) employer-based outreach. Cost-effectiveness was measured by comparing overall cost per attendee recruited and number of attendees per event. The overall cost per attendee was substantially higher for the formal advertising strategy, which produced the lowest number of attendees per event. Leveraging existing community events and employers in rural areas was more cost-effective than formal advertisement for recruiting rural community members. PMID:25496555

  2. Cost-effectiveness of 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccination in Mongolia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sundaram, Neisha; Chen, Cynthia; Yoong, Joanne; Luvsan, Munkh-Erdene; Fox, Kimberley; Sarankhuu, Amarzaya; La Vincente, Sophie; Jit, Mark

    2017-02-15

    The Ministry of Health (MOH), Mongolia, is considering introducing 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13) in its national immunization programme to prevent the burden of disease caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae. This study evaluates the cost-effectiveness and budget impact of introducing PCV13 compared to no PCV vaccination in Mongolia. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) of introducing PCV13 compared to no PCV vaccination was assessed using an age-stratified static multiple cohort model. The risk of various clinical presentations of pneumococcal disease (meningitis, pneumonia, non-meningitis non-pneumonia invasive pneumococcal disease and acute otitis media) at all ages for thirty birth cohorts was assessed. The analysis considered both health system and societal perspectives. A 3+0 vaccine schedule and price of US$3.30 per dose was assumed for the baseline scenario based on Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance's advance market commitment tail price. The ICER of PCV13 introduction is estimated at US$52 per disability-adjusted life year (DALY) averted (health system perspective), and cost-saving (societal perspective). Although indirect effects of PCV have been well-documented, a conservative scenario that does not consider indirect effects estimated PCV13 introduction to cost US$79 per DALY averted (health system perspective), and US$19 per DALY averted (societal perspective). Vaccination with PCV13 is expected to cost around US$920,000 in 2016, and thereafter US$820,000 every year. The programme is likely to reduce direct disease-related costs to MOH by US$440,000 in the first year, increasing to US$510,000 by 2025. Introducing PCV13 as part of Mongolia's national programme appears to be highly cost-effective when compared to no vaccination and cost-saving from a societal perspective at vaccine purchase prices offered through Gavi. Notwithstanding uncertainties around some parameters, cost-effectiveness of PCV introduction for Mongolia remains

  3. Costs and Cost Effectiveness of Three Approaches for Cervical Cancer Screening among HIV-Positive Women in Johannesburg, South Africa.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lince-Deroche, Naomi; Phiri, Jane; Michelow, Pam; Smith, Jennifer S; Firnhaber, Cindy

    2015-01-01

    South Africa has high rates of HIV and HPV and high incidence and mortality from cervical cancer. However, cervical cancer is largely preventable when early screening and treatment are available. We estimate the costs and cost-effectiveness of conventional cytology (Pap), visual inspection with acetic acid (VIA) and HPV DNA testing for detecting cases of CIN2+ among HIV-infected women currently taking antiretroviral treatment at a public HIV clinic in Johannesburg, South Africa. Method effectiveness was derived from a validation study completed at the clinic. Costs were estimated from the provider perspective using micro-costing between June 2013-April 2014. Capital costs were annualized using a discount rate of 3%. Two different service volume scenarios were considered. Threshold analysis was used to explore the potential for reducing the cost of HPV DNA testing. VIA was least costly in both scenarios. In the higher volume scenario, the average cost per procedure was US$ 3.67 for VIA, US$ 8.17 for Pap and US$ 54.34 for HPV DNA. Colposcopic biopsies cost on average US$ 67.71 per procedure. VIA was least sensitive but most cost-effective at US$ 17.05 per true CIN2+ case detected. The cost per case detected for Pap testing was US$ 130.63 using a conventional definition for positive results and US$ 187.52 using a more conservative definition. HPV DNA testing was US$ 320.09 per case detected. Colposcopic biopsy costs largely drove the total and per case costs. A 71% reduction in HPV DNA screening costs would make it competitive with the conservative Pap definition. Women need access to services which meet their needs and address the burden of cervical dysplasia and cancer in this region. Although most cost-effective, VIA may require more frequent screening due to low sensitivity, an important consideration for an HIV-positive population with increased risk for disease progression.

  4. Costs and Cost Effectiveness of Three Approaches for Cervical Cancer Screening among HIV-Positive Women in Johannesburg, South Africa.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Naomi Lince-Deroche

    Full Text Available South Africa has high rates of HIV and HPV and high incidence and mortality from cervical cancer. However, cervical cancer is largely preventable when early screening and treatment are available. We estimate the costs and cost-effectiveness of conventional cytology (Pap, visual inspection with acetic acid (VIA and HPV DNA testing for detecting cases of CIN2+ among HIV-infected women currently taking antiretroviral treatment at a public HIV clinic in Johannesburg, South Africa.Method effectiveness was derived from a validation study completed at the clinic. Costs were estimated from the provider perspective using micro-costing between June 2013-April 2014. Capital costs were annualized using a discount rate of 3%. Two different service volume scenarios were considered. Threshold analysis was used to explore the potential for reducing the cost of HPV DNA testing.VIA was least costly in both scenarios. In the higher volume scenario, the average cost per procedure was US$ 3.67 for VIA, US$ 8.17 for Pap and US$ 54.34 for HPV DNA. Colposcopic biopsies cost on average US$ 67.71 per procedure. VIA was least sensitive but most cost-effective at US$ 17.05 per true CIN2+ case detected. The cost per case detected for Pap testing was US$ 130.63 using a conventional definition for positive results and US$ 187.52 using a more conservative definition. HPV DNA testing was US$ 320.09 per case detected. Colposcopic biopsy costs largely drove the total and per case costs. A 71% reduction in HPV DNA screening costs would make it competitive with the conservative Pap definition.Women need access to services which meet their needs and address the burden of cervical dysplasia and cancer in this region. Although most cost-effective, VIA may require more frequent screening due to low sensitivity, an important consideration for an HIV-positive population with increased risk for disease progression.

  5. Cost effective waste management through composting in Africa

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Couth, R. [CRECHE, Centre for Environmental, Coastal and Hydrological Engineering, Civil Engineering Programme, School of Engineering, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban 4041 (South Africa); Trois, C., E-mail: troisc@ukzn.ac.za [CRECHE, Centre for Environmental, Coastal and Hydrological Engineering, Civil Engineering Programme, School of Engineering, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban 4041 (South Africa)

    2012-12-15

    Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The financial/social/institutional sustainability of waste management in Africa is analysed. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer This note is a compendium of a study on the potential for GHG control via improved zero waste in Africa. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer This study provides the framework for Local Authorities for realizing sustained GHG reductions. - Abstract: Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions per person from urban waste management activities are greater in sub-Saharan African countries than in other developing countries, and are increasing as the population becomes more urbanised. Waste from urban areas across Africa is essentially dumped on the ground and there is little control over the resulting gas emissions. The clean development mechanism (CDM), from the 1997 Kyoto Protocol has been the vehicle to initiate projects to control GHG emissions in Africa. However, very few of these projects have been implemented and properly registered. A much more efficient and cost effective way to control GHG emissions from waste is to stabilise the waste via composting and to use the composted material as a soil improver/organic fertiliser or as a component of growing media. Compost can be produced by open windrow or in-vessel composting plants. This paper shows that passively aerated open windrows constitute an appropriate low-cost option for African countries. However, to provide an usable compost material it is recommended that waste is processed through a materials recovery facility (MRF) before being composted. The paper demonstrates that material and biological treatment (MBT) are viable in Africa where they are funded, e.g. CDM. However, they are unlikely to be instigated unless there is a replacement to the Kyoto Protocol, which ceases for Registration in December 2012.

  6. Understanding Time-driven Activity-based Costing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sharan, Alok D; Schroeder, Gregory D; West, Michael E; Vaccaro, Alexander R

    2016-03-01

    Transitioning to a value-based health care system will require providers to increasingly scrutinize their outcomes and costs. Although there has been a great deal of effort to understand outcomes, cost accounting in health care has been a greater challenge. Currently the cost accounting methods used by hospitals and providers are based off a fee-for-service system. As resources become increasingly scarce and the health care system attempts to understand which services provide the greatest value, it will be critically important to understand the true costs of delivering a service. An understanding of the true costs of a particular service will help providers make smarter decisions on how to allocate and utilize resources as well as determine which activities are nonvalue added. Achieving value will require providers to have a greater focus on accurate outcome data as well as better methods of cost accounting.

  7. Cost effectiveness of prostacyclins in pulmonary arterial hypertension.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roman, Antonio; Barberà, Joan A; Escribano, Pilar; Sala, Maria L; Febrer, Laia; Oyagüez, Itziar; Sabater, Eliazar; Casado, Miguel A

    2012-05-01

    Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is considered an orphan disease. Prostacyclins are the keystone for PAH treatment. Choosing between the three available prostacyclin therapies could be complicated because there are no comparison studies, so the final decision must be driven by factors such as efficacy, administration route, safety profile and economic aspects. This study provides a cost-effectiveness and cost-utility comparison of initiating prostacyclin therapy with three different treatment alternatives (inhaled iloprost [ILO], intravenous epoprostenol [EPO] and subcutaneous treprostinil [TRE]) for patients with PAH. The goal of this work is to help physicians with their therapeutic decision-making. A Markov model was built to simulate a patient cohort with class III PAH according to the classification of the New York Heart Association (NYHA). Four health states corresponding with the NYHA classes plus death were allowed for patients in the model. Changing the treatment was possible when patients worsened from functional class III to IV. The time horizon was 3 years, allowing patients to transition between health states on a 12-week cycle basis. The study perspective was that of the National Health System (NHS) [only direct medical costs were included]. Unitary costs were obtained from the Drug Catalogue and e-Salud Database in 2009 and are given in euros (€). Data on health resources and treatment pathways were informed by a four-member expert panel. Efficacy was obtained from pivotal clinical trials of ILO, EPO and TRE, the latter used in Spain as a foreign medication. Utilities for each health state were obtained from the literature. The final efficacy measure was life-years gained (LYG), and utilities were used to obtain quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs). Costs and effects were discounted at a 3% rate. To check for the robustness of the results, sensitivity analyses were performed. At the end of the 3 years, in the base case of the deterministic

  8. [Cost effectiveness in treatment of acute myeloid leukemia].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nordmann, P; Schaffner, A; Dazzi, H

    2000-12-23

    Although the rise in health costs is a widely debated issue, in Switzerland it was until recently taken for granted that patients are given the best available treatment regardless of cost. An example of a disease requiring costly treatment is acute myelogenous leukaemia (AML). To relate cost to benefit we calculated expenditure per life years gained. To assess costs we determined the real cost of treatment up to total remission, followed by consolidation or withdrawal of treatment or death. For survival time exceeding the 2-year observation period we used data from recent literature. The average cost of treatment ranges up to 107,592 Swiss francs (CHF). In 1997 we treated 23 leukaemia patients at Zurich University Hospital and gained a total of 210 life years. This represents an average cost of CHF 11,741 per life year gained. Chief cost items were therapy and personnel costs for nursing staff, followed by hotel business and personnel costs for doctors and diagnosis. Our results for AML treatment are far removed from the $61,500 ranging up to $166,000 discussed in the literature as the "critical" QALY (quality adjusted life years) value. This is the first time the actual costs of AML therapy have been shown for a Swiss cohort. Despite high initial treatment costs and success only in a limited number of patients, the expenditure per QALY is surprisingly low and shows clearly the effectiveness of apparently costly acute medicine.

  9. Index method for analyzing cost effectiveness of drilling rigs

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Batura, N P; Bocharov, V V

    1978-01-01

    The method for a complete analysis of the factors determining cost effectiveness of a drilling rig fleet is examined. The system of calculating production indexes from statistical reports is relatively simple and is not difficult to use for production organizations. The analytical results may be used to develop actual measures used to increase cost effectiveness of drilling operations.

  10. The costs and cost-effectiveness of a school-based comprehensive intervention study on childhood obesity in China.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Liping Meng

    Full Text Available The dramatic rise of overweight and obesity among Chinese children has greatly affected the social economic development. However, no information on the cost-effectiveness of interventions in China is available. The objective of this study is to evaluate the cost and the cost-effectiveness of a comprehensive intervention program for childhood obesity. We hypothesized the integrated intervention which combined nutrition education and physical activity (PA is more cost-effective than the same intensity of single intervention.And Findings: A multi-center randomized controlled trial conducted in six large cities during 2009-2010. A total of 8301 primary school students were categorized into five groups and followed one academic year. Nutrition intervention, PA intervention and their shared common control group were located in Beijing. The combined intervention and its' control group were located in other 5 cities. In nutrition education group, 'nutrition and health classes' were given 6 times for the students, 2 times for the parents and 4 times for the teachers and health workers. "Happy 10" was carried out twice per day in PA group. The comprehensive intervention was a combination of nutrition and PA interventions. BMI and BAZ increment was 0.65 kg/m(2 (SE 0.09 and 0.01 (SE 0.11 in the combined intervention, respectively, significantly lower than that in its' control group (0.82 ± 0.09 for BMI, 0.10 ± 0.11 for BAZ. No significant difference were found neither in BMI nor in BAZ change between the PA intervention and its' control, which is the same case in the nutrition intervention. The single intervention has a relative lower intervention costs compared with the combined intervention. Labor costs in Guangzhou, Shanghai and Jinan was higher compared to other cities. The cost-effectiveness ratio was $120.3 for BMI and $249.3 for BAZ in combined intervention, respectively.The school-based integrated obesity intervention program was cost-effectiveness

  11. Modelling cost-effectiveness of different vasectomy methods in India, Kenya, and Mexico

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Seamans Yancy

    2007-07-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Vasectomy is generally considered a safe and effective method of permanent contraception. The historical effectiveness of vasectomy has been questioned by recent research results indicating that the most commonly used method of vasectomy – simple ligation and excision (L and E – appears to have a relatively high failure rate, with reported pregnancy rates as high as 4%. Updated methods such as fascial interposition (FI and thermal cautery can lower the rate of failure but may require additional financial investments and may not be appropriate for low-resource clinics. In order to better compare the cost-effectiveness of these different vasectomy methods, we modelled the costs of different vasectomy methods using cost data collected in India, Kenya, and Mexico and effectiveness data from the latest published research. Methods The costs associated with providing vasectomies were determined in each country through interviews with clinic staff. Costs collected were economic, direct, programme costs of fixed vasectomy services but did not include large capital expenses or general recurrent costs for the health care facility. Estimates of the time required to provide service were gained through interviews and training costs were based on the total costs of vasectomy training programmes in each country. Effectiveness data were obtained from recent published studies and comparative cost-effectiveness was determined using cost per couple years of protection (CYP. Results In each country, the labour to provide the vasectomy and follow-up services accounts for the greatest portion of the overall cost. Because each country almost exclusively used one vasectomy method at all of the clinics included in the study, we modelled costs based on the additional material, labour, and training costs required in each country. Using a model of a robust vasectomy program, more effective methods such as FI and thermal cautery reduce the cost per

  12. Cost-Effectiveness and Cost Thresholds of Generic and Brand Drugs in a National Chronic Hepatitis B Treatment Program in China.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mehlika Toy

    Full Text Available Chronic liver disease and liver cancer associated with chronic hepatitis B (CHB are leading causes of death among adults in China. Although newborn hepatitis B immunization has successfully reduced the prevalence of CHB in children, about 100 million Chinese adults remain chronically infected. If left unmanaged, 15-25% will die from liver cancer or liver cirrhosis. Antiviral treatment is not necessary for all patients with CHB, but when it is indicated, good response to treatment would prevent disease progression and reduce disease mortality and morbidity, and costly complications. The aim of this study is to analyze the cost-effectiveness of generic and brand antiviral drugs for CHB treatment in China, and assessing various thresholds at which a highly potent, low resistance antiviral drug would be cost-saving and/or cost-effective to introduce in a national treatment program. We developed a Markov simulation model of disease progression using effectiveness and cost data from the medical literature. We measured life-time costs, quality adjusted life years (QALYs, incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs, and clinical outcomes. The no treatment strategy incurred the highest health care costs ($12,932-$25,293 per patient, and the worst health outcomes, compared to the antiviral treatment strategies. Monotherapy with either entecavir or tenofovir yielded the most QALYs (14.10-19.02 for both HBeAg-positive and negative patients, with or without cirrhosis. Threshold analysis showed entercavir or tenofovir treatment would be cost saving if the drug price is $32-75 (195-460 RMB per month, highly cost-effective at $62-110 (379-670 RMB per month and cost-effective at $63-120 (384-734 RMB per month. This study can support policy decisions regarding the implementation of a national health program for chronic hepatitis B treatment in China at the population level.

  13. The economic costs of radiation-induced health effects: Estimation and simulation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nieves, L.A.; Tawil, J.J.

    1988-08-01

    This effort improves the quantitative information available for use in evaluating actions that alter health risks due to population exposure to ionizing radiation. To project the potential future costs of changes in health effects risks, Pacific Northwest Laboratory (PNL) constructed a probabilistic computer model, Health Effects Costs Model (HECOM), which utilizes the health effect incidence estimates from accident consequences models to calculate the discounted sum of the economic costs associated with population exposure to ionizing radiation. Application of HECOM to value-impact and environmental impact analyses should greatly increase the quality of the information available for regulatory decision making. Three major types of health effects present risks for any population sustaining a significant radiation exposure: acute radiation injuries (and fatalities), latent cancers, and impairments due to genetic effects. The literature pertaining to both incidence and treatment of these health effects was reviewed by PNL and provided the basis for developing economic cost estimates. The economic costs of health effects estimated by HECOM represent both the value of resources consumed in diagnosing, treating, and caring for the patient and the value of goods not produced because of illness or premature death due to the health effect. Additional costs to society, such as pain and suffering, are not included in the PNL economic cost measures since they do not divert resources from other uses, are difficult to quantify, and do not have a value observable in the marketplace. 83 refs., 3 figs., 19 tabs

  14. The economic costs of radiation-induced health effects: Estimation and simulation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nieves, L.A.; Tawil, J.J.

    1988-08-01

    This effort improves the quantitative information available for use in evaluating actions that alter health risks due to population exposure to ionizing radiation. To project the potential future costs of changes in health effects risks, Pacific Northwest Laboratory (PNL) constructed a probabilistic computer model, Health Effects Costs Model (HECOM), which utilizes the health effect incidence estimates from accident consequences models to calculate the discounted sum of the economic costs associated with population exposure to ionizing radiation. Application of HECOM to value-impact and environmental impact analyses should greatly increase the quality of the information available for regulatory decision making. Three major types of health effects present risks for any population sustaining a significant radiation exposure: acute radiation injuries (and fatalities), latent cancers, and impairments due to genetic effects. The literature pertaining to both incidence and treatment of these health effects was reviewed by PNL and provided the basis for developing economic cost estimates. The economic costs of health effects estimated by HECOM represent both the value of resources consumed in diagnosing, treating, and caring for the patient and the value of goods not produced because of illness or premature death due to the health effect. Additional costs to society, such as pain and suffering, are not included in the PNL economic cost measures since they do not divert resources from other uses, are difficult to quantify, and do not have a value observable in the marketplace. 83 refs., 3 figs., 19 tabs.

  15. Functional outcome and cost-effectiveness of pulsed electromagnetic fields in the treatment of acute scaphoid fractures: a cost-utility analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hannemann, Pascal F W; Essers, Brigitte A B; Schots, Judith P M; Dullaert, Koen; Poeze, Martijn; Brink, Peter R G

    2015-04-11

    Physical forces have been widely used to stimulate bone growth in fracture repair. Addition of bone growth stimulation to the conservative treatment regime is more costly than standard health care. However, it might lead to cost-savings due to a reduction of the total amount of working days lost. This economic evaluation was performed to assess the cost-effectiveness of Pulsed Electromagnetic Fields (PEMF) compared to standard health care in the treatment of acute scaphoid fractures. An economic evaluation was carried out from a societal perspective, alongside a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, multicenter trial involving five centres in The Netherlands. One hundred and two patients with a clinically and radiographically proven fracture of the scaphoid were included in the study and randomly allocated to either active bone growth stimulation or standard health care, using a placebo. All costs (medical costs and costs due to productivity loss) were measured during one year follow up. Functional outcome and general health related quality of life were assessed by the EuroQol-5D and PRWHE (patient rated wrist and hand evaluation) questionnaires. Utility scores were derived from the EuroQol-5D. The average total number of working days lost was lower in the active PEMF group (9.82 days) compared to the placebo group (12.91 days) (p = 0.651). Total medical costs of the intervention group (€1594) were significantly higher compared to the standard health care (€875). The total amount of mean QALY's (quality-adjusted life year) for the active PEMF group was 0.84 and 0.85 for the control group. The cost-effectiveness plane shows that the majority of all cost-effectiveness ratios fall into the quadrant where PEMF is not only less effective in terms of QALY's but also more costly. This study demonstrates that the desired effects in terms of cost-effectiveness are not met. When comparing the effects of PEMF to standard health care in terms of QALY's, PEMF

  16. Combining Time-Driven Activity-Based Costing with Clinical Outcome in Cost-Effectiveness Analysis to Measure Value in Treatment of Depression.

    Science.gov (United States)

    El Alaoui, Samir; Lindefors, Nils

    2016-01-01

    A major challenge of mental health care is to provide safe and effective treatment with limited resources. The main purpose of this study was to examine a value-based approach in clinical psychiatry when evaluating a process improvement initiative. This was accomplished by using the relatively new time driven activity based costing (TDABC) method within the more widely adopted cost-effectiveness analysis framework for economic evaluation of healthcare technologies. The objective was to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of allowing psychologists to perform post-treatment assessment previously performed by psychiatrists at an outpatient clinic treating depression using internet-based cognitive-behavioral therapy (ICBT). Data was collected from 568 adult patients treated with ICBT for depression during 2013-2014. The TDABC methodology was used to estimate total healthcare costs, including development of process maps for the complete cycle of care and estimation of resource use and minute costs of staff, hospital space and materials based on their relative proportions used. Clinical outcomes were measured using the Patient Health Questionnaire depression scale (PHQ-9) before and after treatment and at 6-month follow-up. Cost-effectiveness analyses (CEA) was performed and the results presented as incremental net benefits (INB), cost-effectiveness acceptability curves (CEACs) and confidence ellipses to demonstrate uncertainty around the value of the organizational intervention. Taking into account the complete healthcare process (from referral to follow-up assessment), treatment costs decreased from $709 (SD = $130) per patient in 2013 to $659 (SD = $134) in 2014 while treatment effectiveness was maintained; 27% had achieved full remission from depression after treatment (PHQ-9 cost-effectiveness plane at both post-treatment and at follow-up, indicating that the ICBT treatment was less costly and equally effective after staff reallocation. Treating patients to the target

  17. Health benefits, costs, and cost-effectiveness of earlier eligibility for adult antiretroviral therapy and expanded treatment coverage

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Eaton, Jeffrey W; Menzies, Nicolas A; Stover, John

    2014-01-01

    therapy accordingly. We aimed to assess the potential health benefits, costs, and cost-effectiveness of various eligibility criteria for adult antiretroviral therapy and expanded treatment coverage. METHODS: We used several independent mathematical models in four settings-South Africa (generalised...... epidemic, moderate antiretroviral therapy coverage), Zambia (generalised epidemic, high antiretroviral therapy coverage), India (concentrated epidemic, moderate antiretroviral therapy coverage), and Vietnam (concentrated epidemic, low antiretroviral therapy coverage)-to assess the potential health benefits......, costs, and cost-effectiveness of various eligibility criteria for adult antiretroviral therapy under scenarios of existing and expanded treatment coverage, with results projected over 20 years. Analyses assessed the extension of eligibility to include individuals with CD4 counts of 500 cells per μ...

  18. Cost-Effectiveness Analysis of Breast Cancer Control Interventions in Peru

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zelle, Sten G.; Vidaurre, Tatiana; Abugattas, Julio E.; Manrique, Javier E.; Sarria, Gustavo; Jeronimo, José; Seinfeld, Janice N.; Lauer, Jeremy A.; Sepulveda, Cecilia R.; Venegas, Diego; Baltussen, Rob

    2013-01-01

    Objectives In Peru, a country with constrained health resources, breast cancer control is characterized by late stage treatment and poor survival. To support breast cancer control in Peru, this study aims to determine the cost-effectiveness of different breast cancer control interventions relevant for the Peruvian context. Methods We performed a cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA) according to WHO-CHOICE guidelines, from a healthcare perspective. Different screening, early detection, palliative, and treatment interventions were evaluated using mathematical modeling. Effectiveness estimates were based on observational studies, modeling, and on information from Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Neoplásicas (INEN). Resource utilizations and unit costs were based on estimates from INEN and observational studies. Cost-effectiveness estimates are in 2012 United States dollars (US$) per disability adjusted life year (DALY) averted. Results The current breast cancer program in Peru ($8,426 per DALY averted) could be improved through implementing triennial or biennial screening strategies. These strategies seem the most cost-effective in Peru, particularly when mobile mammography is applied (from $4,125 per DALY averted), or when both CBE screening and mammography screening are combined (from $4,239 per DALY averted). Triennially, these interventions costs between $63 million and $72 million per year. Late stage treatment, trastuzumab therapy and annual screening strategies are the least cost-effective. Conclusions Our analysis suggests that breast cancer control in Peru should be oriented towards early detection through combining fixed and mobile mammography screening (age 45-69) triennially. However, a phased introduction of triennial CBE screening (age 40-69) with upfront FNA in non-urban settings, and both CBE (age 40-49) and fixed mammography screening (age 50-69) in urban settings, seems a more feasible option and is also cost-effective. The implementation of this

  19. Establishing Cost-Effective Allocation of Proton Therapy for Breast Irradiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mailhot Vega, Raymond B.; Ishaq, Omar; Raldow, Ann; Perez, Carmen A.; Jimenez, Rachel; Scherrer-Crosbie, Marielle; Bussiere, Marc; Taghian, Alphonse; Sher, David J.; MacDonald, Shannon M.

    2016-01-01

    Purpose: Cardiac toxicity due to conventional breast radiation therapy (RT) has been extensively reported, and it affects both the life expectancy and quality of life of affected women. Given the favorable oncologic outcomes in most women irradiated for breast cancer, it is increasingly paramount to minimize treatment side effects and improve survivorship for these patients. Proton RT offers promise in limiting heart dose, but the modality is costly and access is limited. Using cost-effectiveness analysis, we provide a decision-making tool to help determine which breast cancer patients may benefit from proton RT referral. Methods and Materials: A Markov cohort model was constructed to compare the cost-effectiveness of proton versus photon RT for breast cancer management. The model was analyzed for different strata of women based on age (40 years, 50 years, and 60 years) and the presence or lack of cardiac risk factors (CRFs). Model entrants could have 1 of 3 health states: healthy, alive with coronary heart disease (CHD), or dead. Base-case analysis assumed CHD was managed medically. No difference in tumor control was assumed between arms. Probabilistic sensitivity analysis was performed to test model robustness and the influence of including catheterization as a downstream possibility within the health state of CHD. Results: Proton RT was not cost-effective in women without CRFs or a mean heart dose (MHD) <5 Gy. Base-case analysis noted cost-effectiveness for proton RT in women with ≥1 CRF at an approximate minimum MHD of 6 Gy with a willingness-to-pay threshold of $100,000/quality-adjusted life-year. For women with ≥1 CRF, probabilistic sensitivity analysis noted the preference of proton RT for an MHD ≥5 Gy with a similar willingness-to-pay threshold. Conclusions: Despite the cost of treatment, scenarios do exist whereby proton therapy is cost-effective. Referral for proton therapy may be cost-effective for patients with ≥1 CRF in cases for which

  20. Establishing Cost-Effective Allocation of Proton Therapy for Breast Irradiation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mailhot Vega, Raymond B.; Ishaq, Omar [Department of Radiation Oncology, NYU School of Medicine, New York, New York (United States); Raldow, Ann [Radiation Oncology Program, Harvard University, Boston, Massachusetts (United States); Perez, Carmen A. [Department of Radiation Oncology, NYU School of Medicine, New York, New York (United States); Jimenez, Rachel [Department of Radiation Oncology, Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts (United States); Scherrer-Crosbie, Marielle [Cardiovascular Research Center, Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts (United States); Bussiere, Marc; Taghian, Alphonse [Department of Radiation Oncology, Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts (United States); Sher, David J. [Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, San Antonio, Texas (United States); MacDonald, Shannon M., E-mail: smacdonald@partners.org [Department of Radiation Oncology, Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts (United States)

    2016-05-01

    Purpose: Cardiac toxicity due to conventional breast radiation therapy (RT) has been extensively reported, and it affects both the life expectancy and quality of life of affected women. Given the favorable oncologic outcomes in most women irradiated for breast cancer, it is increasingly paramount to minimize treatment side effects and improve survivorship for these patients. Proton RT offers promise in limiting heart dose, but the modality is costly and access is limited. Using cost-effectiveness analysis, we provide a decision-making tool to help determine which breast cancer patients may benefit from proton RT referral. Methods and Materials: A Markov cohort model was constructed to compare the cost-effectiveness of proton versus photon RT for breast cancer management. The model was analyzed for different strata of women based on age (40 years, 50 years, and 60 years) and the presence or lack of cardiac risk factors (CRFs). Model entrants could have 1 of 3 health states: healthy, alive with coronary heart disease (CHD), or dead. Base-case analysis assumed CHD was managed medically. No difference in tumor control was assumed between arms. Probabilistic sensitivity analysis was performed to test model robustness and the influence of including catheterization as a downstream possibility within the health state of CHD. Results: Proton RT was not cost-effective in women without CRFs or a mean heart dose (MHD) <5 Gy. Base-case analysis noted cost-effectiveness for proton RT in women with ≥1 CRF at an approximate minimum MHD of 6 Gy with a willingness-to-pay threshold of $100,000/quality-adjusted life-year. For women with ≥1 CRF, probabilistic sensitivity analysis noted the preference of proton RT for an MHD ≥5 Gy with a similar willingness-to-pay threshold. Conclusions: Despite the cost of treatment, scenarios do exist whereby proton therapy is cost-effective. Referral for proton therapy may be cost-effective for patients with ≥1 CRF in cases for which