The Impact of reference pricing on prescribing patterns, costs, and health services utilization of proton pump inhibitors: A quasi-experimental study in British Columbia, Canada.

INTRODUCTION: The Reference Drug Program (RDP) was established to steer patients toward equally safe and cost-effective medication under British Columbia's public drug coverage. Each RDP class covers at least one reference drug, and non-reference drugs are reimbursed up to the cost of the reference drug. In 2016, the RDP updated to include proton pump inhibitors (PPIs). This study evaluated the impact on drug expenditures, prescription patterns, and health services utilization. METHODS: We identified a cohort of individuals covered by Fair Pharmacare who used PPIs, and a control group of H2 Blockers users. We used interrupted time series analysis on administrative data from June 2014 to December 2019 on the following outcomes: new users, day supply, expenditures, drug costs, reference drug use, and physician visits and costs. RESULTS: The RDP had little impact on overall PPI use patterns. We did not observe any changes in reference drug uptake, new users, physician visits, cost-savings, or significant changes to days supplied post-policy. Cost expenditure results were likely biased due to co-occurring changes to drug prices. CONCLUSION: Inclusion of PPIs to the RDP saw no cost-savings for the provincial drug program and had little impact on prescribing patterns. Overall, our findings are consistent with existing evidence that the RDP is safe for similar therapeutic alternatives, but the impact on PPI costs remains unclear.

Drug Cost Avoidance Resulting from Participation in Clinical Trials: A 10-Year Retrospective Analysis of Cancer Patients with Solid Tumors.

The objective of this single-center retrospective study was to describe the clinical characteristics of adult patients with solid tumors enrolled in cancer clinical trials over a 10-year period (2010-2019) and to assess drug cost avoidance (DCA) associated with sponsors' contributions. The sponsors' contribution to pharmaceutical expenditure was calculated according to the actual price (for each year) of pharmaceutical specialties that the Vall d'Hebron University Hospital (HUVH) would have had to bear in the absence of sponsorship. A total of 2930 clinical trials were conducted with 10,488 participants. There were 140 trials in 2010 and 459 in 2019 (228% increase). Clinical trials of high complexity phase I and basket trials accounted for 34.3% of all trials. There has been a large variation in the pattern of clinical research over the study period, whereas, in 2010, targeted therapy accounted for 79.4% of expenditure and cytotoxic drugs for 20.6%; in 2019, immunotherapy accounted for 68.4%, targeted therapy for 24.4%, and cytotoxic drugs for only 7.1%. A total of four hundred twenty-one different antineoplastic agents were used, the variability of which increased from forty-seven agents in 2010, with only seven of them accounting for 92.8% of the overall pharmaceutical expenditure) to three hundred seventeen different antineoplastic agents in 2019, with thirty-three of them accounting for 90.6% of the overall expenditure. The overall expenditure on antineoplastic drugs in clinical care patients not included in clinical trials was EUR 120,396,096. The total cost of antineoplastic drugs supplied by sponsors in a clinical trial setting was EUR 107,306,084, with a potential DCA of EUR 92,662,609. Overall, clinical trials provide not only the best context for the progress of clinical research and healthcare but also create opportunities for reducing cancer care costs.

Why the increase? Examining the rise in prescription medication expenditures in the United States between 2011 and 2020.

The objective of this cross-sectional analysis was to identify determinants of increasing medicine expenditures in the US between 2011 and 2020. Prescription medication expenditures from the 2011-2020 Medical Expenditures Panel Survey (MEPS) were used to calculate total annual medication expenditures by payer categories (Out-of-pocket, Medicare, Medicaid, TRICARE/Veterans Administration/CHAMPVA (TVAC), Other Government Sources, Private Insurance, and Other Sources). From here, expenditures were stratified by therapeutic category using Multum Lexicon Drug Class to examine trends in expenditures by therapeutic area. Linear regression was used to identify temporal trends in medication expenditures. From 2011 to 2020, total annual prescription medication expenditures rose from $341.49 to $473.12 billion per year with metabolic agents being the most costly category. Among the metabolic agents, antidiabetic agents were the most costly therapeutic area, with an increasing trend observed from $27.15 to $89.17 billion over the same period. Medicare, Medicaid, Private Insurance, TVAC, and Other Sources also saw an increasing trend in antidiabetic agent expenditure, while no trend was observed for Out-of-pocket and Other Government Sources. Insulin had the highest expenditure among antidiabetic agents. Further studies are warranted to explore specific factors contributing to the increasing trend.

Study of Factors to Increase the Usage Rate of Generic Drugs in Platelet Aggregation Inhibitors.

To reduce pharmacy-related medical expenses, it is necessary to reduce drug costs. One way to achieve this is by increasing the usage rate of generic drugs. The purpose of this study was to identify platelet aggregation inhibitors (PAIs) that contribute to high drug costs and are sold as brand-name drugs in order to increase the usage rate of generic drugs, and to analyze the factors that affect the usage rate of generic drug. We conducted a cross-sectional study based on the National Database of Health Insurance Claims and Specific Health Checkups of Japan Open Data Japan (NODJ) of the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare and datasets containing related medical information from official statistical surveys such as the Basic Survey on Wage Structure. Monthly personal income in each prefecture were negatively correlated with outpatient out-of-hospital and outpatient in-hospital prescriptions of the PAIs clopidogrel (75 mg), cilostazol (50 mg), cilostazol (100 mg), and ticlopidine (100 mg), but not between monthly personal income and outpatient out-of-hospital prescription of ticlopidine (100 mg). For outpatient out-of-hospital prescriptions and outpatient in-hospital prescriptions, negative correlation was generally observed between the usage rate of generic drug and monthly personal income, except for ticlopidine (100 mg), which has the lowest price among the brand-name drugs. The usage rate of generic PAIs is negatively correlated with monthly personal income. Promoting the use of generic drugs among high-income earners might be necessary to further increase the usage rate of generic drug.

The Influence of Diagnosis Intervention Packet Policy Intervention on Medication Structure and Drug Cost of Elderly Hypertensive Inpatients in China: A Multicenter Interrupted Time-Series Analysis.

Background: DIP is a new medical insurance payment system developed in China which was implemented in Guangzhou in January 2018, but few studies have focused on its intervention effect on the drug burden of elderly hypertensive patients. Methods: Nine medical institutions in Guangzhou, China, were selected, among which, daily full medical orders of elderly hypertensive inpatients from 2016 to 2020 were randomly collected. To assess the impact of DIP policy intervention on patient drug burden, we took the data after policy implementation in January 2018, as the intervention data, and applied a segmented regression model with interrupted time series to analyze the trend and changes in average daily drug costs per month and medication structure, stratified by age, sex, and inpatient department. Results: A total of 34,276 elderly hypertensive patients' daily full medical orders were obtained. The immediate level change of drug costs after intervention was -23.884 RMB/month (P = 0.652), and the trend change was statistically significant (-15.642 RMB/month, P = 0.002). The relative cumulative effect at the end of the study was -78.860% (95% CI: -86.087% to -69.076%), and the intervention effect was more significant in surgical and male patients. The analysis of drug structure changes showed that after the implementation of the DIP policy intervention, the proportion of anti-infective drugs, anti-tumor drugs, and biological products all showed a significant downward trend (P < 0.05), while nutritional drugs showed a significant upward trend (P = 0.011), but no immediate horizontal change in slope was observed. Conclusion: The typical practice in China showed that DIP policy intervention can improve the drug burden of elderly hypertensive hospitalized patients and has a stable long-term effect, and the intervention effect is not consistent across different clinical department and populations with different characteristics, and it would also cause changes in the medication structure.

Direct medical cost and medications for patient of diabetes retinopathy in Beijing, China, 2016-2018.

AIMS: Medications and costs of drug for diabetic retinopathy in outpatient in China have not been evaluated. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the hypoglycemic drugs and medical costs of diabetic retinopathy patients in the Beijing medical insurance system, analyze the characteristics of outpatient treatment, and investigate the changes in the quantity and cost of hypoglycemic drugs from 2016 to 2018. METHODS: This is a retrospective observational study, including diabetic patients with outpatient records in Beijing medical insurance from 2016 to 2018. Data on oral hypoglycemic drugs, insulin and non-hypoglycemic drugs, complications, treatment strategies, and annual medical costs were recorded. RESULTS: A total of 2,853,036 diabetic patients in Beijing medical insurance were enrolled in this study. 4.19 %-4.67 % of patients were diagnosed with retinopathy. Patients with retinopathy have more diabetic complications (1.65 ± 0.71 vs 0.18 ± 0.44. p < .0001), and use more drugs (5.11 ± 2.60 vs 3.85 ± 2.34, p < .0001), the annual total drug cost is also higher (¥ 13,836 ± 11,244 vs ¥ 10,030 ± 9375, p < .0001). The numbers of medication in retinopathy patients increased (5.11 ± 2.60 vs 4.95 ± 2.57, p < .0001), and the annual total drug cost (¥13,836 ± 11,244 vs ¥15,642 ± 13,344, p < .0001) decreased in 2018 compared with 2016. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with retinopathy were associated with more complications. Compared with patients without retinopathy, the number of medications and total medical costs were significantly increased. From 2016 to 2018, there was an increase in the number of medication treatments for patients with retinopathy, but a decrease in cost.

Chinese Intelligence Prescription System improves prescription accuracy while decreasing labor and drug costs.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: The traditional method of taking Chinese Medicine involves creating a decoction by cooking medicinal Chinese herbs. However, this method has become less popular, being replaced by the more convenient method of consuming concentrated Chinese herbal extracts, which creates challenges related to the complexity of stacking multiple formulas. METHODS: We developed the Chinese Intelligence Prescription System (CIPS) to simplify the prescription process. In this study, we used data from our institutions pharmacy to calculate the number of reductions, average dispensing time, and resulting cost savings. RESULTS: The mean number of prescriptions was reduced from 8.19 ± 3.65 to 7.37 ± 3.34 ([Formula: see text]). The reduction in the number of prescriptions directly resulted in decreased dispensing time, reducing it from 1.79 ± 0.25 to 1.63 ± 0.66 min ([Formula: see text]). The reduced dispensing time totaled 3.75 h per month per pharmacist, equivalent to an annual labor cost savings of $15,488 NTD per pharmacist. In addition, drug loss was reduced during the prescription process, with a mean savings of $4,517 NTD per year. The combined savings adds up to a not insignificant $20,005 NTD per year per pharmacist. When taking all TCM clinics/hospitals in Taiwan into account, the total annual savings would be $77 million NTD. CONCLUSION: CIPS assists clinicians and pharmacists to formulate precise prescriptions in a clinical setting to simplify the dispensing process while reducing medical resource waste and labor costs.

Opioid prescription trends among American Head and Neck Society fellowship graduates.

BACKGROUND: Opioids are commonly used to manage the pain of head and neck (HN) cancer patients. METHODS: Retrospective cohort of graduates from American Head and Neck Society accredited fellowships from 1997 to 2018. The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services Part D Provider Utilization and Payment database 2014-2019 was cross-referenced with provider names to identify opioid prescription trends. RESULTS: From 2014 to 2019, there was no significant difference in the average number of opioid beneficiaries per provider (18.02 vs. 18.10, p = 0.586) or opioid claims per provider (28.06 vs. 26.73, p = 0.708). The average total opioid day supply per beneficiary declined from 11.09 to 7.05 days from 2014 to 2019 (p < 0.001). In 2019, providers in the Northeast had the lowest prescribed opioid day supply (3.67 days) compared to those from the South who had the highest (10.32 days). CONCLUSIONS: Opioid prescription length has significantly declined among HN surgeons, with variations across geographic regions.

Temporal trends in the cost and use of first-line treatments for infantile epileptic spasms syndrome.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the temporal trends in the cost and use of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), oral prednisolone, and vigabatrin, the first-line treatments for infantile epileptic spasms syndrome (IESS). METHODS: Retrospective observational study using the MarketScan Commercial database from 2006 to 2020. We identified patients with IESS diagnosed between birth and 18 months of age who received at least one of the first-line treatments within 60 days of diagnosis. Costs were adjusted for inflation using the Gross Domestic Product Implicit Price Deflator. RESULTS: A total of 1131 patients received at least one first-line treatment (median [p25 -p75 ] age: 6.3 [4.5-8.3] months, 55% male), of whom 592 patients received ACTH, 363 patients received oral prednisolone, and 355 patients received vigabatrin. After adjusting for inflation, the median average wholesale price of a 14-day course of treatment increased for ACTH from $3718 in 2006 to $100 457 in 2020, ~2700% (by a factor of 27), whereas it decreased for oral prednisolone from $169 in 2006 to $89 in 2020, ~50% (by a factor of 0.5), and increased for vigabatrin from $1206 in 2009 (first year with data on vigabatrin used for IESS) to $4102 in 2020, ~340% (by a factor of 3.4). During the first 60 days after diagnosis, inpatient admission days and costs where higher for ACTH than for oral prednisolone and vigabatrin-5.0 (3.0-8.3) days vs 2.0 (0.0-5.0) days vs 2.0 (0.0-6.0) days, p < .0001; and $32 828 ($14 711-$67 216) vs $16 227 ($0-$35 829) vs $17 844 ($0-$47 642), p < .0001. ACTH use decreased from representing 78% of first-line treatments in 2006 to 18% in 2020 (p < .0001). Sensitivity analyses confirmed the robustness of the results. SIGNIFICANCE: The gap between the cost of ACTH and the cost of oral prednisolone or vigabatrin has widened markedly from 2006 to 2020, whereas the relative proportion of ACTH use has decreased.

Costs and import costs of past, present, and future TB drug regimens: a case study for Karakalpakstan, Uzbekistan.

BACKGROUND: Tuberculosis (TB) drugs and their import are costly. We assessed how shorter TB drug regimens, which were non-inferior or superior in recent TB trials, can affect the costs for purchasing and importing TB drugs. METHODS: We estimated the drug costs and import costs of 39 longer and shorter TB drug regimens using TB drug prices from the Global Drug Facility and import cost estimates for a TB program in Karakalpakstan, Uzbekistan. Drug regimens from recent TB trials were compared with TB drug regimens following present or past World Health Organization recommendations. RESULTS: We estimated an import cost of $4.19 and a drug cost of $43 per standard 6-month drug-sensitive (DS)-TB regimen. A new 17-week DS-TB regimen from the TBTC Study 31 currently requires more tablets and is more expensive to import ($6.08) and purchase ($233). The TB program can substantially decrease import costs ($2.26-14) and drug costs ($391-2308) per multidrug-resistant (MDR)-TB regimen when using new 6-month or shorter drug regimens from the Nix-TB, NExT, TB PRACTECAL, ZeNix, or BEAT TB trials instead of 9-20-month regimens with import costs of $9.96-507 and drug costs of $354-15 028. For a commonly used 20-month all-oral, bedaquiline-containing MDR-TB regimen, we estimated costs of $41 for drug import and $1773 for drug purchase. CONCLUSIONS: The implementation of a new and shorter DS-TB regimen may increase the costs for drug purchase and import. The implementation of new and shorter MDR-TB regimens may decrease the costs for drug purchase and/or drug import.

Evaluation of denosumab in adult oncology patients for the prevention of skeletal related events across a large academic health system.

INTRODUCTION: Denosumab (Xgeva®) and zoledronic acid (Zometa®) are widely utilized for prevention of skeletal related events (SREs) in oncology patients. Drug costs, renal function, ease and logistics of administration, and adverse effect profile are factors frequently considered by patients and/or providers when selecting an optimal agent. Given the significantly higher drug cost of denosumab compared to zoledronic acid, an evaluation of our institution's denosumab use and investigation into opportunities to shift denosumab administrations to zoledronic acid and/or to lower cost sites-of-care was warranted. METHODS: A single-center, multi-site, retrospective, observational analysis of the electronic medical record (EMR) was conducted for adult oncology patients who received denosumab 120 mg for prevention of SREs from October 1st, 2018 to September 30th, 2019 at three institutions within our health system. Additional information was collected to characterize the patient population based on cancer diagnosis, renal function, and concomitant calcium and vitamin D supplementation. Our primary objective was to evaluate if the use of denosumab met current formulary restrictions of the health system. RESULTS: In total, 304 adult oncology patients received 1411 doses of denosumab for the prevention of SREs. The majority of reviewed patients had a primary oncology diagnosis of breast (35%) or lung (24%) cancer. Of the patients who received denosumab, 278 (93%) met the health system's current formulary restrictions. The majority of patients who did not meet formulary restrictions were those with multiple myeloma (MM) (20/22; 91%). Of the 304 patients reviewed, 70 had the appropriate parameters in the EMR to calculate creatinine clearance (CrCl) using Cockcroft-Gault Equation. Of those 70 patients, 59 (84%) would have been eligible to receive zoledronic acid instead of denosumab given that their CrCl >30 mL/min with no documented intolerance to bisphosphonates. Concurrent use of calcium and vitamin D is recommended when using denosumab. Based on the most recent prior to admission (PTA) medication list obtained from the 304 patients evaluated, 222 (73%) had both calcium and vitamin D listed as "taking". CONCLUSIONS: Within our health system, denosumab is restricted to those who meet formulary restrictions. Additional education is recommended to help limit the use of denosumab, specifically in MM, to reduce drug costs when zoledronic acid is also an appropriate first-line agent.

[Moving toward improved access to medicines and health technologies for cardiovascular diseaseAvançando para melhorar o acesso a medicamentos e tecnologias de saúde para as doenças cardiovasculares]. / Avanzando para mejorar el acceso a los medicamentos y tecnologías sanitarias para las enfermedades cardiovasculares.

The objectives of this article are to describe the interventions carried out by the Strategic Fund of the Pan American Health Organization to facilitate access to and availability of antihypertensive drugs and devices for measuring blood pressure in the countries of the Region of the Americas, supporting implementation of the HEARTS initiative; and to present the preliminary results of price analyses of antihypertensive drugs.The study methodology included a review of reports made by the Strategic Fund during 2019-2020, evaluation of modalities of procurement, a review of the public procurement databases for five antihypertensive drugs, and a comparison with the price obtained by the Strategic Fund. Differences ranging from 20% to 99% were identified, indicating significant opportunities for savings. Interprogrammatic actions in support of the HEARTS initiative are also presented, such as the inclusion of antihypertensive drugs recommended by the World Health Organization; consolidation of regional demand and establishment of competitive prices with long-term agreements to manage the procurement of quality generic products; and the definition of technical specifications and regulatory requirements to support the procurement of devices to measure blood pressure. Through this mechanism, Member States can reduce their costs significantly, enabling them to extend treatment and diagnostic coverage to more people.

Os objetivos deste artigo são descrever as intervenções realizadas pelo Fundo Estratégico da Organização Pan-Americana da Saúde para facilitar o acesso e a disponibilidade de medicamentos anti-hipertensivos e aparelhos de medição de pressão arterial aos países da Região das Américas, em apoio à implementação da iniciativa HEARTS; e apresentar os resultados preliminares da análise dos preços dos medicamentos anti-hipertensivos.A metodologia do estudo incluiu a revisão de relatórios feitos pelo Fundo Estratégico durante os anos de 2019 e 2020, a avaliação das modalidades de aquisição e revisão dos dados de compras públicas de 5 medicamentos anti-hipertensivos e uma análise comparativa com o preço obtido pelo Fundo Estratégico. Foram identificadas diferenças que oscilaram entre 20% e 99%, o que evidencia oportunidades de economia significativas. Da mesma forma, são apresentadas as ações interprogramáticas desenvolvidas em apoio à iniciativa HEARTS, entre as quais se destacam a inclusão de medicamentos anti-hipertensivos recomendados pela Organização Mundial da Saúde; a consolidação da demanda regional e o estabelecimento de preços competitivos com acordos de longo prazo para gerenciar a aquisição de genéricos de qualidade; e a definição de especificações técnicas e requisitos regulatórios para subsidiar a aquisição de aparelhos de medição de pressão arterial. Por meio desse mecanismo, os Estados Membros podem reduzir seus custos significativamente, ampliando a cobertura de tratamento e diagnóstico para atingir mais pessoas.

Drug and therapeutics committee interventions in managing irrational drug use and antimicrobial stewardship in China.

Aim: This study aimed to investigate the key points in the transformation of the functions of the Drug and Therapeutics Committee (DTC) of the Shandong Provincial Third Hospital and how to provide full authority to its role in the control of rational drug use, especially in the management of antibiotic use. Method: A prescription review management group, antimicrobial stewardship group, and rational drug use service group were established under the DTC. From January 2016 to December 2021, each group played a role in promoting rational drug use and antimicrobial stewardship. In addition, we performed statistics on typical management cases, irrational drug use, bacterial resistance rate, and drug costs from 2015 to 2021 to evaluate the effect of management by the DTC. Results: Intervention by the DTC led to a significant reduction in prescribing errors (71.43%, p < 0.05), the intervention acceptance rate increased by 16.03%, and the problem solved rate increased by 32.41% (p < 0.05). Resistance rates of general spectrum antibiotics were reduced remarkably after the intervention. The quality of drug treatment was improved and patient drug expenses was continuously reduced. Conclusion: Giving full play to the functions of the DTC can significantly improve the level of drug treatment and reduce unreasonable drug use to save unnecessary drug expenses and slow the development of drug resistance.

A New Methodology to Estimate Drug Cost Avoidance in Clinical Trials: Development and Application.

Background: Oncology clinical trials can lead to relevant financial savings in drug acquisition for healthcare providers. Considerable methodological heterogeneity is observed among previous studies estimating these savings. Methods: We developed a methodology to estimate the economic benefit obtained from the enrollment of patients into clinical trials through the analysis of drug cost avoidance. We designed a decision algorithm to determine if a clinical trial is associated with drug cost avoidance. This algorithm is based on five scenarios according to the availability or not of standard treatment, the presence or absence of a control arm (placebo or active treatment), and the provider of the medication. We considered as reference the cost of the standard treatment that the patient would have received in routine clinical practice. We standardized drug doses and treatment durations according to the literature. Costs were considered from a National Health System perspective. We applied this methodology at a single, research-active University Hospital in 2019. A cost avoidance analysis per trial and patient was carried out on cancer patients. Results: We analyzed 140 trials in which 198 patients were recruited. Drug cost avoidance was found in 120 trials (85.7%). The estimated total drug cost avoidance amounted to over €3,200,000. Melanoma and genitourinary tumors were the tumor types associated with the highest cost avoidance. The average drug cost avoidance per patient was €16,245. Conclusion: We describe a standardized method to estimate drug cost avoidance in clinical trials. We have applied it to all ongoing oncology clinical trials in our center. This methodology could be valuable for other centers to analyze the potential saving of clinical trials.

Comparison of direct costs associated with the use of balanced general anesthesia and total intravenous anesthesia (TIVA) techniques / Comparación de los costos directos asociados al uso de técnicas de anestesia general balanceada y anestesia total intravenosa (TIVA)

Abstract Introduction: Healthcare costs are increasing against the backdrop of scarce resources. Surgical procedures are an important part of healthcare spending, and the cost of anesthetic techniques is relevant as part of the total cost of care and it is a potential target for expenditure optimization. Although important economic differences have been reported internationally for general anesthesia options, there are no publications in Colombia that compare current costs and allow for informed and financially responsible decision-making. Objective: To quantify and compare direct costs associated with the various general anesthesia options most frequently used at the present time. Methods: Cost minimization analysis based on a theoretical model of balanced general anesthesia using isoflurane, sevoflurane, desflurane in combination with remifentanil, and TIVA (propofol and remifentanil). Initial results were obtained using a deterministic simulation method and a sensitivity analysis was performed using a Monte Carlo simulation. Results: The average total cost per case for the different anesthetic techniques was COP 126381 for sevoflurane, COP 97706 for isoflurane, COP 288605 for desflurane and COP 222 960 for TIVA. Conclusions: Balanced general anesthesia with desflurane is the most costly alternative, 1.2 times more expensive than TIVA, and 2 and 3 times more costly than balanced anesthesia with sevoflurane and isoflurane, respectively. TIVA ranks second with a cost 1.8 times higher than balanced anesthesia with sevoflurane and 2.5 times higher than balanced anesthesia with isoflurane.

Resumen Introducción: Los costos de la atención en salud son crecientes y se enfrentan a un escenario de recursos escasos. La realización de procedimientos quirúrgicos hace parte importante de la atención y del gasto en salud, el costo de las técnicas anestésicas utilizadas es relevante en el costo total de la atención y es un objetivo potencial para la optimización del gasto. Aunque a escala internacional se han reportado diferencias económicas importantes entre las alternativas para anestesia general, en Colombia no se cuenta con publicaciones que comparen los costos actuales y permitan una toma de decisiones informada y responsable económicamente. Objetivo: Cuantificar y comparar los costos directos para Colombia de las diferentes alternativas para anestesia general usadas con más frecuencia en la actualidad. Métodos: Análisis de minimización de costos basado en un modelo teórico de anestesia general balanceada con isoflurano, sevoflurano, desflurano en combinación con remifentanilo y TIVA (propofol y remifentanilo). Se obtuvieron resultados iniciales utilizando una simulación con un método determinista y se realizó un análisis de sensibilidad con una simulación de Montecarlo. Resultados: El costo total promedio por caso para las diferentes técnicas anestésicas fue de COP 126.381 para sevoflurano, COP 97.706 para isoflurano, COP 288.605 para desflurano y COP 222.960 para TIVA. Conclusiones: La anestesia general balanceada con desflurano es la alternativa de mayor costo, es 1,2 veces más costosa que la TIVA, y 2 y 3 veces más que la balanceada con sevoflurano e isoflurano, respectivamente. La TIVA ocupa el segundo lugar con un costo 1,8 veces superior a la balanceada con sevoflurano y 2,5 veces a la balanceada con isoflurano.

The effect of educational intervention on use of psychotropics in defined daily doses and related costs - a randomized controlled trial.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of an educational intervention of nursing staff on change in psychotropic use and related costs among older long-term care residents. DESIGN: A secondary analysis of a randomized controlled intervention study with 12 months of follow-up. SETTING: Assisted living facilities in Helsinki, Finland. SUBJECTS: Older (≥65 years) residents (N = 227) living in assisted living facility wards (N = 20) in Helsinki in 2011. INTERVENTION: The wards were randomized into two groups. In one group, the nursing staff received training on appropriate medication therapy and guidance to recognize potentially harmful medications and adverse effects (intervention group); in the other group, the nursing staff did not receive any additional training (control group). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Change of psychotropic use counted as relative proportions of WHO ATC-defined daily doses (rDDDs) among older long-term care residents. In addition, the change in drug costs was considered. Comparable assessments were performed at 0, 6, and 12 months. RESULTS: A significant decrease in both rDDDs and the cost of psychotropics was observed in the intervention group at 6 months follow-up. However, at 12 months, the difference between the intervention and control group had diminished. CONCLUSIONS: Educational training can be effective in reducing the doses and costs of psychotropics. Further studies are warranted to investigate whether long-term effects can also be achieved by various educational interventions. REGISTRATION NUMBER: ACTRN 12611001078943 KEY POINTSWe explored the effect of staff training on psychotropic use and associated costs among older long-term care residents.Educational training of nursing staff was beneficial as regards the actual drug doses of psychotropics, and cost savings in psychotropic medication were achieved.Educational training was efficient in the short-term, but further research is warranted to achieve long-term effects.

Evaluating the direct medical cost, drug utilization and expenditure for managing Parkinson's disease: a costing study at a medical center in China.

Background: With long-term pharmacotherapy, Parkinson's disease (PD) is expectedly to incur a significant healthcare burden. However, drug utilization and costing study is limited, so is the cost composition and its impact on resource allocation. This study took a healthcare provider's perspective to quantify medical and drug expenses and the utilization of drugs for managing PD and its complications. Methods: Medical resources use and associated cost of outpatient visits and inpatient admission episodes for PD patients were extracted from electronic medical records at a tertiary hospital in China from 1 January 2016 to 15 August 2018. Total and average direct medical (costs of outpatient visits and inpatient admission episodes) and drug costs were calculated during the study period and each calendar year. Drug cost was quantified by defined daily dose cost (DDDc) and levodopa equivalent dose cost (LEDc) per outpatient visit or inpatient admission episode for PD in Chinese yuan (¥), stratified by medication categories, and presented in descriptive statistics. Results: Overall, 18,158 outpatient visits and 366 inpatient admissions were incurred by 2,640 outpatients and 330 inpatients, with a median age of 71.0 and 73.5 years, respectively. Drug cost accounted for 97.82% and 23.33% of outpatient and inpatient medical expenditure. The average cost of drugs for managing PD accounted for 60.48% (¥952.50) and 2.70% (¥564.90) of cost per outpatient visit and inpatient episode, while drugs for managing PD complications was 11.38% and 0.70%, respectively. The highest DDDc and LEDc of drugs for managing PD per outpatient visit or inpatient episode were incurred by pramipexole (¥56.90-72.70 and ¥227.48-290.67) and entacapone (¥37.70-45.70 and ¥228.64-276.77). The DDDc and LEDc of pramipexole is more than 10 times that of levodopa/benserazide (DDDc: ¥4.90-5.70; LEDc: ¥10.14-11.98) and carbidopa/levodopa (DDDc: ¥4.00-5.00; LEDc: ¥11.02-13.95). Conclusions: The outpatient direct medical cost for patients with PD was predominantly attributed to drug cost for managing PD, but drug cost weighed less of the inpatient cost. After adjusting the dose and number of patients, drugs with indirect dopamine effects had an excessively higher cost than dopamine precursors. Their long-term cost-effectiveness in real-world settings warrants further studies.

Real-world evidence of a successful biosimilar adoption program.

Biosimilars have introduced new opportunities to reduce the disproportionately high US healthcare spending on biologic medications. This article describes strategic utilization management program initiatives designed to promote biosimilar utilization, reduce biologic drug costs and increase sustainability in a US nonprofit health system. Key components of these biosimilar utilization management program initiatives included expedited procedures to evaluate and establish the formulary status of biosimilars, enhanced contracting negotiations, specially designed electronic medical record tools to guide physician prescribing, payer coverage analysis, evaluations of biologic-utilization trends and financial performance analysis. Within 2 years (2019-2020), this program has resulted in savings of USD$26.9 million for Providence St Joseph Health and biosimilar adoption rates that greatly exceed the US national average.

Biologics are medications that are effective treatments for many patients but have a high price that affects patients and healthcare systems. Biosimilars are medications that are nearly identical copies to an approved biologic medication and have been shown to have similar effectiveness and safety. As biosimilars have a lower price than the bio-originators, the use of biosimilars can help reduce healthcare costs. This article describes how Providence St Joseph Health, a large US nonprofit health system, encouraged the use of lower-cost biosimilars instead of the higher-cost bio-originators. Using several different tools, Providence St Joseph Health ensured that biosimilars are used wherever possible and has saved USD$26.9 million in 2 years.