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Healthcare costs and outcomes of managing β‐thalassemia major over 50 years in the United Kingdom
Author(s) -
Weidlich Diana,
Kefalas Panos,
Guest Julian F.
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
transfusion
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.045
H-Index - 132
eISSN - 1537-2995
pISSN - 0041-1132
DOI - 10.1111/trf.13513
Subject(s) - medicine , health care , incidence (geometry) , quality adjusted life year , environmental health , cost effectiveness , economic growth , economics , risk analysis (engineering) , physics , optics
BACKGROUND The objective was to estimate the incidence‐based costs of treating β‐thalassemia major (BTM) to the United Kingdom's National Health Service (NHS) over the first 50 years of a patient's life in terms of healthcare resource use and corresponding costs and the associated health outcomes. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS This was a modeling study based on information obtained from a systematic review of published literature and clinicians involved in managing BTM in the United Kingdom. A state transition model was constructed depicting the management of BTM over a period of 50 years. The model was used to estimate the incidence‐based health economic impact that BTM imposes on the NHS and patients' health status in terms of the number of quality‐adjusted life‐years (QALYs) over 50 years. RESULTS The expected probability of survival at 50 years is 0.63. Of patients who survive, 33% are expected to be without any complication and the other 67% are expected to experience at least one complication. Patients' health status over this period was estimated to be a mean of 11.5 discounted QALYs per patient. Total healthcare expenditure attributable to managing BTM was estimated to be £483,454 ($720,201) at 2013/14 prices over 50 years. The cost of managing BTM could be potentially reduced by up to 37% if one in two patients had a bone marrow transplant, with an ensuing improvement in health‐related quality of life. CONCLUSION This analysis provides the best estimate available of NHS resource use and costs with which to inform policy and budgetary decisions pertaining to this rare disease.