Filtering for the best policy: An economic evaluation of policy options for kidney replacement coverage in the Philippines.

AIM: Kidney failure patients in the Philippines have free choice on their kidney replacement therapy (KRT), with a majority choosing haemodialysis (HD) over peritoneal dialysis (PD) and transplantation despite the inadequate coverage of HD. Although national health insurance coverage is limited, KRT remains to be one of the top benefits pay-outs in the country. The study aims to identify the most cost-effective policy strategy for financing KRT in the Philippines, in the context of a universal healthcare policy. METHODS: A Markov model was developed to estimate and compare the costs and benefits of different policy options with the comparator being partial HD coverage. Direct medical, non-medical and indirect costs were measured, while outcomes were reported through quality-adjusted life years (QALYs). Parameters were derived from the kidney disease registry, hospital statistics from a tertiary hospital and a patient survey. RESULTS: The results of the cost-effectiveness analysis showed that shifting to a PD-First policy provides better value-for-money with an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) of 570 029 Philippine Pesos (PHP) per QALY gained, compared with the ICER of the PD-First combined with pre-emptive transplant option of 577 989 PHP per QALY gained. Expanding existing HD coverage to 156 sessions was the least cost-effective policy (1 522 437 PHP per QALY gained). CONCLUSION: Government should consider shifting to a PD-First strategy and support policies that promote kidney transplants among existing PD and HD patients. This study also highlights the need for proper evaluation of partial coverage policies to ensure that government investments represent good value-for-money and patients receive optimal care.

Economic Evaluation of Selected Interleukin Inhibitors Versus Methotrexate for Moderate-to-Severe Plaque Psoriasis From the Philippine Payer Perspective.

OBJECTIVES: We conducted an economic evaluation of interleukin inhibitors (ILIs) guselkumab, ixekizumab (IXE), secukinumab (SEC), and ustekinumab to a methotrexate (MTX) comparator for biologic-naive adult Filipino patients with moderate-to-severe chronic plaque psoriasis. METHODS: A 1-year decision tree and 5-year Markov model were used to estimate incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs) in Philippine pesos (PHP) per Psoriasis Area Severity Index improvement of at least 75%. For health technology assessment purposes, we also estimated the budget impact of subsidies for SEC to a Government of the Philippines (GoP) payer. Deterministic and probabilistic sensitivity analyses were performed. Data sources included global literature and local intervention prices. RESULTS: All ILIs were more effective but also more expensive than MTX. In the base case, only IXE and SEC were cost-effective treatments at a gross domestic product-benchmarked threshold, yielding ICERs of PHP468 098.01 and PHP483 525.32 per PASI responder, respectively. GUS and UST were less likely to be cost-effective throughout a range of simulated thresholds. ICERs were most responsive to discontinuation rates and drug prices. Full subsidy of SEC for 5 years would cost the GoP PHP1.83 billion more than a similar subsidy for MTX. CONCLUSIONS: ILIs were clearly more effective than MTX, but only IXE and SEC were potentially cost-effective for a GoP payer. Any case in which SEC is fully subsidized is more expensive to the GoP than the base case. This study was limited by a lack of country-specific effectiveness data, underestimation of comparator costs, exclusion of noncutaneous and quality-of-life effects, and indirect costs.

Establishing a national indicator-based surveillance system for hospital bed utilization by COVID-19 patients in the Philippines.

In March 2020, the Philippine Department of Health (DOH) designed and rapidly implemented a national surveillance system for the utilization of hospital beds by patients with coronavirus disease (COVID-19) to produce complete and timely data for use by various levels of governance in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The DOH launched the DOH DataCollect (DDC) Bed Tracker system, a web-based application that collects information from all 1906 public and private hospitals and infirmaries across the country using a modular data collection tool. Data on the maximum number of occupied COVID-19-designated beds (n = 28 261), hospital bed utilization rate (71.7%), and mechanical ventilator number (n = 1846) and utilization rate (58.5%) were recorded in September 2021 during the Delta surge of cases in the Philippines. Data on human resources, personal protective equipment and supplies, and other operational indicators were added to the system during various modifications. Information from the DDC was used to inform the COVID-19 response and operations at national and local levels and facilitated research at academic and nongovernmental agencies. The development of the DDC system demonstrates that an effective surveillance system for use by all health-care facilities is achievable through strong national leadership, the use of available technology and adaptive information systems, and the establishment of networks across different health facilities and stakeholders.