Robert J. Nordyke; Kevin J Appelbaum; Mark A Berman · 2019 · Journal of Medical Internet Research
Paper
BACKGROUND: Behavioral interventions can meaningfully improve cardiometabolic conditions. Digital therapeutics (DTxs) delivering these interventions may provide benefits comparable to pharmacologic therapies, displacing medications for some patients. OBJECTIVE: Our objective was to estimate the economic impact of a digital behavioral intervention in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and hypertension (HTN) and estimate the impact of clinical inertia on deprescribing medications. METHODS: Decision analytic models estimated health resource savings and cost effectiveness from a US commercial payer perspective. A 3-year time horizon was most relevant to the intervention and payer. Effectiveness of the DTx in improving clinical outcomes was based on cohort studies and published literature. Health resource utilization (HRU), health state utilities, and costs were drawn from the literature with costs adjusted to 2018 dollars. Future costs and quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) were discounted at 3%. Sensitivity analyses assessed uncertainty. RESULTS: Average HRU savings ranged from $97 to $145 per patient per month, with higher potential benefits in T2DM. Cost-effectiveness acceptability analyses using a willingness-to-pay of $50,000/QALY indicated that the intervention would be cost effective at total 3-year program costs of $6468 and $6620 for T2DM and HTN, respectively. Sensitivity analyses showed that reduced medication costs are a primary driver of potential HRU savings, and the results were robust within values tested. A resistance to deprescribe medications when a patient's clinical outcomes improve can substantially reduce the estimated economic benefits. Our models rely on estimates of clinical effectiveness drawn from limited cohort studies with DTxs and cannot account for other disease management programs that may be implemented. Performance of DTxs in real-world settings is required to further validate their economic benefits. CONCLUSIONS: The DTxs studied may provide substantial cost savings, in part by reducing the use of conventional medications. Clinical inertia may limit the full cost savings of DTxs.
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