Cost and activity analysis for a citywide patient navigation intervention to engage underserved patients in breast cancer treatment: Findings from the Translating Research Into Practice study

Background

Patient navigation is an evidence-based intervention for reducing delays in cancer care for underserved populations. There are limited economic evaluations of patient navigation in the US health care system and few have considered costs at various phases along the implementation spectrum. Having economic data, including costs and cost savings, can support sustainability of patient navigation programs. This study presents findings from a cost and activity analysis of a citywide hospital-based patient navigation program to engage women in timely breast cancer treatment post-diagnosis.

Methods

This study was conducted as part of Translating Research Into Practice (TRIP), a citywide patient navigation hybrid effectiveness-implementation research study conducted at five cancer care hospitals in Boston, Massachusetts. The authors surveyed participating patient navigators and supervisors about their tasks and level of effort over consecutive 10-day periods from 2019 to 2021. Patient navigators documented the time spent on activities in accordance with an 11-step protocol across five sites. Cost data were collected from annual fiscal year end expenditure hospital administrative databases at concurrent time frames. Descriptive analyses were used to calculate average time on tasks, cost per activity and cost per outcome. Cost savings were estimated by calculating the additional persons engaged in timely entry to treatment compared to a matched control group with respect to hospitalization and emergency room costs averted.

Results

Average time spent per day on TRIP-specific navigation activities was approximately 3 hours (range, 0–8 hours) and the average time per patient per day was 25 minutes (n = 7 navigators). Total costs for clinical site interventions were $218,394 for startup and $392,407 for maintenance costs over the study period. A total of 223 patients were served during the intervention period with an average cost per patient of $979 for startup and $1759 for maintenance. Potential costs savings with the TRIP navigation program from averted hospitalization and emergency room visits for 63 additional patients who received timely treatment is estimated at $21,798–$30,429 and $2536–$5692 per patient, respectively, compared to treatment as usual.

Conclusions

The economic evaluation in this study provides insight into startup and implementation costs for uptake and scalability of navigation programs across a citywide system. The information may be useful for payors in reimbursing navigation activities and health systems in planning for high quality navigation programs to ensure patient-centered and timely treatment for women diagnosed with breast cancer.