Daniela Afonso, Amy Dymond, Isabel Eastwood, William Green, William Laughey, Patricia Aluko, Graham Pennick, Imran Lodhi, Bruce Charlesworth
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引用次数: 0
Abstract
Background: Increased appropriate use of self-care for minor conditions can reduce the number of healthcare professional appointments and, hence, provide opportunity cost savings to the National Health Service (NHS). The receipt of over-the-counter medications can lead to faster access to treatment, improved health-related quality of life, and fewer education and work days lost.
Methods: A model was developed to evaluate the economic impact of a change in the proportion of people using self-care with ibuprofen to manage three conditions (dysmenorrhoea, migraine and acute rhinosinusitis) on preventable healthcare resource use from the perspective of the NHS and Personal Social Services (PSS). The total number of appointments for each condition was estimated from NHS Digital and was based on the number of primary (n = 230,298,091) and secondary (n = 22,839,832) care visits, and the proportion of visits due to each condition (informed by clinical opinion). Work and school days lost were also modelled to estimate the wider indirect costs associated with preventable absences due to delays in receiving treatment. Deterministic sensitivity and scenario analyses were also conducted to estimate the uncertainty associated with the analysis.
Results: The use of self-care with ibuprofen was increased by 5% in the base case analysis. The results indicate that this increase could prevent 409,243 appointments in the United Kingdom over a one-year time horizon. 882,875 and 117,114 work and school hours lost could also be prevented, respectively. Sensitivity analysis suggests the magnitude of change in self-care, average working hours/pay and appointment waiting times are the main drivers of the model results.
Conclusion: Self-care with ibuprofen provides opportunity cost-savings to the NHS and frees up the capacity of healthcare professionals so that they can focus on more severe conditions.
期刊介绍：
Cost Effectiveness and Resource Allocation is an Open Access, peer-reviewed, online journal that considers manuscripts on all aspects of cost-effectiveness analysis, including conceptual or methodological work, economic evaluations, and policy analysis related to resource allocation at a national or international level. Cost Effectiveness and Resource Allocation is aimed at health economists, health services researchers, and policy-makers with an interest in enhancing the flow and transfer of knowledge relating to efficiency in the health sector. Manuscripts are encouraged from researchers based in low- and middle-income countries, with a view to increasing the international economic evidence base for health.
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