Is faster better? An economic evaluation of rapid and ultra-rapid genomic testing in critically ill infants and children.
Genet Med
; 24(5): 1037-1044, 2022 05.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-35181209
ABSTRACT
PURPOSE:
To evaluate whether the additional cost of providing increasingly faster genomic results in pediatric critical care is outweighed by reductions in health care costs and increases in personal utility.METHODS:
Hospital costs and medical files from a cohort of 40 children were analyzed. The health economic impact of rapid and ultra-rapid genomic testing, with and without early initiation, relative to standard genomic testing was evaluated.RESULTS:
Shortening the time to results led to substantial economic and personal benefits. Early initiation of ultra-rapid genomic testing was the most cost-beneficial strategy, leading to a cost saving of AU$26,600 per child tested relative to standard genomic testing and a welfare gain of AU$12,000 per child tested. Implementation of early ultra-rapid testing of critically ill children is expected to lead to an annual cost saving of AU$7.3 million for the Australian health system and an aggregate welfare gain of AU$3.3 million, corresponding to a total net benefit of AU$10.6 million.CONCLUSION:
Early initiation of ultra-rapid genomic testing can offer substantial economic and personal benefits. Future implementation of rapid genomic testing programs should focus not only on optimizing the laboratory workflow to achieve a fast turnaround time but also on changing clinical practice to expedite test initiation.Key words
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Critical Illness
/
Critical Care
Type of study:
Health_economic_evaluation
Limits:
Child
/
Humans
/
Infant
Country/Region as subject:
Oceania
Language:
En
Journal:
Genet Med
Journal subject:
GENETICA MEDICA
Year:
2022
Document type:
Article