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INTRODUCTION: Healthcare costs and societal impact of myasthenia gravis (MG), a potentially life-threatening rare, chronic neuromuscular disease, are sparsely studied. We assessed healthcare resource utilization (HCRU) and associated costs among patients with newly diagnosed (ND) and preexisting (PE) MG in Sweden. METHODS: This observational, retrospective cohort study used data from four linkable Swedish nationwide population-based registries. Adult MG patients receiving pharmacological treatment for MG and having ≥24-month follow-up during the period January 1, 2010, to December 31, 2017, were included. RESULTS: A total of 1,275 patients were included in the analysis, of which 554 patients were categorized into the ND MG group and 721 into the PE MG group. Mean (±SD) age was 61.3 (±17.4) years, and 52.3% were female. In the first year post-diagnosis, ND patients had significantly higher utilization of acetylcholinesterase inhibitors (96.0% vs. 83.9%), corticosteroids (59.6% vs. 45.8%), thymectomy (12.1% vs. 0.7%), and plasma exchange (3.8% vs. 0.6%); had higher all-cause (70.9% vs. 35.8%) and MG-related (62.5% vs. 18.4%) hospitalization rates with 11 more hospitalization days (all p < 0.01) and an increased risk of hospitalization (odds ratio [95% CI] = 4.4 [3.43, 5.64]) than PE MG. In year 1 post-diagnosis, ND MG patients incurred EUR 7,302 (p < 0.01) higher total all-cause costs than PE MG, of which 84% were estimated to be MG-related and the majority (86%) were related to inpatient care. These results remained significant also after controlling for baseline demographics and comorbidities (p < 0.01). In year 2 post-diagnosis, the all-cause medical costs decreased by â¼55% for ND MG from year 1 and were comparable with PE MG. CONCLUSION: In this population-based study, MG patients required significantly more healthcare resources in year 1 post-diagnosis than PE MG primarily due to more pharmacological treatments, thymectomies, and associated hospitalizations. These findings highlight the need to better understand potential factors including disease characteristics associated with increased health resource use and costs and need for more efficacious treatments early in the disease course.
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BACKGROUND: Attainment of asthma-specific US Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS) quality measures may be associated with improved clinical outcomes and reduced economic burden. OBJECTIVE: We examined the relationship between the attainment of HEDIS measures asthma medication ratio (AMR) and medication management for people with asthma (MMA) on clinical and economic outcomes. METHODS: This retrospective claims database analysis linked to ambulatory electronic medical records enrolled US patients aged ≥5 years with persistent asthma between May 2015 and April 2017. The attainment of AMR ≥0.5 and MMA ≥75% was determined over a 1-year premeasurement period. Asthma exacerbations and asthma-related health care costs were evaluated during the subsequent 12-month measurement period, comparing patients attaining 1 or both measures with those not attaining either. RESULTS: In total, 32,748 patients were included, 75.2% of whom attained AMR (n = 24,388) and/or MMA (n = 12,042) during the premeasurement period. Fewer attainers of 1 or more HEDIS measures had ≥1 asthma-related hospitalizations, emergency department visit, corticosteroid burst, or exacerbation (4.9% vs 7.3%; 9.6% vs 18.2%; 43.8% vs 51.6%; 14.3% vs 23.3%, respectively; all P < .001) compared with nonattainers. In adjusted analyses, HEDIS attainment was associated with a lower likelihood of exacerbations (odds ratio: 0.63, [95% confidence interval: 0.60-0.67]; P < .001). The attainment of ≥1 HEDIS measures lowered total and asthma-related costs, and asthma exacerbation-related health care costs per patient relative to nonattainers (cost ratio: 0.87, P < .001; 0.96, P = .02; and 0.59, P < .001, respectively). Overall and asthma-specific costs were lower for patients attaining AMR, but not MMA. CONCLUSIONS: HEDIS attainment was associated with significantly improved asthma outcomes and lower asthma-specific costs.
