scholarly journals Health care cost and benefits of artificial intelligence-assisted population-based glaucoma screening for the elderly in remote areas of China: a cost-offset analysis

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Xuan Xiao ◽  
Long Xue ◽  
Lin Ye ◽  
Hongzheng Li ◽  
Yunzhen He

Abstract Background Population-based screening was essential for glaucoma management. Although various studies have investigated the cost-effectiveness of glaucoma screening, policymakers facing with uncontrollably growing total health expenses were deeply concerned about the potential financial consequences of glaucoma screening. This present study was aimed to explore the impact of glaucoma screening with artificial intelligence (AI) automated diagnosis from a budgetary standpoint in Changjiang county, China. Methods A Markov model based on health care system’s perspective was adapted from previously published studies to predict disease progression and healthcare costs. A cohort of 19,395 individuals aged 65 and above were simulated over a 15-year timeframe. Fur illustrative purpose, we only considered primary angle-closure glaucoma (PACG) in this study. Prevalence, disease progression risks between stages, compliance rates were obtained from publish studies. We did a meta-analysis to estimate diagnostic performance of AI automated diagnosis system from fundus image. Screening costs were provided by the Changjiang screening programme, whereas treatment costs were derived from electronic medical records from two county hospitals. Main outcomes included the number of PACG patients and health care costs. Cost-offset analysis was employed to compare projected health outcomes and medical care costs under the screening with what they would have been without screening. One-way sensitivity analysis was conducted to quantify uncertainties around model results. Results Among people aged 65 and above in Changjiang county, it was predicted that there were 1940 PACG patients under the AI-assisted screening scenario, compared with 2104 patients without screening in 15 years’ time. Specifically, the screening would reduce patients with primary angle closure suspect by 7.7%, primary angle closure by 8.8%, PACG by 16.7%, and visual blindness by 33.3%. Due to early diagnosis and treatment under the screening, healthcare costs surged dramatically to $107,761.4 dollar in the first year and then were constantly declining over time, while without screening costs grew from $14,759.8 in the second year until peaking at $17,900.9 in the 9th year. However, cost-offset analysis revealed that additional healthcare costs resulted from the screening could not be offset by decreased disease progression. The 5-, 10-, and 15-year accumulated incremental costs of screening versus no screening were estimated to be $396,362.8, $424,907.9, and $434,903.2, respectively. As a result, the incremental cost per PACG of any stages prevented was $1464.3. Conclusions This study represented the first attempt to address decision-maker’s budgetary concerns when adopting glaucoma screening by developing a Markov prediction model to project health outcomes and costs. Population screening combined with AI automated diagnosis for PACG in China were able to reduce disease progression risks. However, the excess costs of screening could never be offset by reduction in disease progression. Further studies examining the cost-effectiveness or cost-utility of AI-assisted glaucoma screening were needed.

Author(s):  
Ziggi Ivan Santini ◽  
Hannah Becher ◽  
Maja Bæksgaard Jørgensen ◽  
Michael Davidsen ◽  
Line Nielsen ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Previous literature has examined the societal costs of mental illness, but few studies have estimated the costs associated with mental well-being. In this study, a prospective analysis was conducted on Danish data to determine 1) the association between mental well-being (measured in 2016) and government expenditure in 2017, specifially healthcare costs and sickness benefit transfers. Methods Data stem from a Danish population-based survey of 3,508 adults (aged 16 + years) in 2016, which was linked to Danish registry data. A validated scale (WEMWBS) was used for the assessment of mental well-being. Costs are expressed in USD PPP. A two-part model was applied to predict costs in 2017, adjusting for sociodemographics, health status (including psychiatric morbidity and health behaviour), as well as costs in the previous year (2016). Results Each point increase in mental well-being (measured in 2016) was associated with lower healthcare costs ($− 42.5, 95% CI = $− 78.7, $− 6.3) and lower costs in terms of sickness benefit transfers ($− 23.1, 95% CI = $− 41.9, $− 4.3) per person in 2017. Conclusions Estimated reductions in costs related to mental well-being add to what is already known about potential savings related to the prevention of mental illness. It does so by illustrating the savings that could be made by moving from lower to higher levels of mental well-being both within and beyond the clinical range. Our estimates pertain to costs associated with those health-related outcomes that were included in the study, but excluding other social and economic outcomes and benefits. They cover immediate cost estimates (costs generated the year following mental well-being measurement) and not those that could follow improved mental well-being over the longer term. They may therefore be considered conservative from a societal perspective. Population approaches to mental health promotion are necessary, not only to potentiate disease prevention strategies, but also to reduce costs related to lower levels of mental well-being in the non-mental illness population. Our results suggest that useful reductions in both health care resource use and costs, as well as in costs due to sick leave from the workplace, could be achieved from investment in mental well-being promotion within a year.


2021 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 1-7
Author(s):  
Mariana Y Miyamoto ◽  
Ralph Cohen ◽  
Niro Kasahara

Background/Aims The appropriate roles for alternative diagnostic tests in detecting primary angle closure of the eye are uncertain. This study evaluated the cost-effectiveness of Scheimpflug camera imaging, the van Herick technique and gonioscopy to identify primary angle in a developing country. Methods This cross-sectional diagnostic study included participants aged >40 years with suspected primary angle closure in the developing country of Brazil. All participants underwent Scheimpflug camera imaging, a van Herick test and gonioscopy. The diagnostic ability of these tests was evaluated using a receiver operating characteristic curve. Costs of interventions were derived using the Brazilian Hierarchical Classification of Medical Procedures. The cost-effectiveness of the tests were compared using an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio. Results Gonioscopy was confirmed to be the most accurate diagnostic test for primary angle closure, closely followed by the van Herick test. The accuracy of Scheimpflug camera imaging was considerably lower, largely because of its low sensitivity. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio demonstrated that Scheimpflug camera imaging was also the least cost-effective, as it was considerably more expensive but with less clinical benefits. Conclusions Because of its relatively low accuracy and high costs, Scheimpflug camera imaging is not as cost-effective as gonioscopy nor the van Herick test as a means of diagnosing primary angle closure in a developing country.


2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (10) ◽  
pp. 1718-1728 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura E Targownik ◽  
Eric I Benchimol ◽  
Julia Witt ◽  
Charles N Bernstein ◽  
Harminder Singh ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Anti–tumor necrosis factor (anti-TNF) drugs are highly effective in the treatment of moderate-to-severe Crohn’s disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC), but they are very costly. Due to their effectiveness, they could potentially reduce future health care spending on other medical therapies, hospitalization, and surgery. The impact of downstream costs has not previously been quantified in a real-world population-based setting. Methods We used the University of Manitoba IBD Database to identify all persons in a Canadian province with CD or UC who received anti-TNF therapy between 2004 and 2016. All inpatient, outpatient, and drug costs were enumerated both in the year before anti-TNF initiation and for up to 5 years after anti-TNF initiation. Costs before and after anti-TNF initiation were compared, and multivariate linear regression analyses were performed to look for predictors of higher costs after anti-TNF initiation. Results A total of 928 people with IBD (676 CD, 252 UC) were included for analyses. The median cost of health care in the year before anti-TNF therapy was $4698 for CD vs $6364 for UC. The median cost rose to $39,749 and $49,327, respectively, in the year after anti-TNF initiation, and to $210,956 and $245,260 in the 5 years after initiation for continuous anti-TNF users. Inpatient and outpatient costs decreased in the year after anti-TNF initiation by 12% and 7%, respectively, when excluding the cost of anti-TNFs. Conclusions Direct health care expenditures markedly increase after anti-TNF initiation and continue to stay elevated over pre-initiation costs for up to 5 years, with only small reductions in the direct costs of non-drug-related health care.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qin Luo ◽  
Wenwen Xue ◽  
Yin Yuan ◽  
Chaowei Fu ◽  
Jiangnan He ◽  
...  

Abstract Background To investigate the distribution of peripheral anterior chamber depth (ACD) and the relationship between peripheral ACD and gonioscopy compared to other ocular parameters for primary angle closure disease (PACD) screening. Methods Cross-sectional study. Adults 50 and older were enrolled from a population-based study using cluster random sampling in Pudong New District, Shanghai. Remote ocular screening was performed with digital anterior eye structure photography. Van Herrick measurements were used to evaluate the peripheral ACD, the depth of the peripheral anterior chamber, and corneal thickness (CT), and the ACD to CT ratio was calculated. Subjects with peripheral ACD less than 0.5 CT were made follow-up appointments for clinical examination with gonioscopy. Receiver operating characteristic curves (ROC) were generated to show the performance of different tests in screening for primary angle closure disease (PACD). Results 2528 adults participated in the study with 91 patients diagnosed with PACD. 2463 subjects had valid data in the right eye available for analysis. The mean peripheral ACD values for men and women were significantly different: 1.04±0.46 (range 0.11-2.93) CT and 0.87±0.41 (range 0.12-2.96) CT respectively (t=-4.18; P<0.0001). Multivariate logistic regression analysis reveals that peripheral ACD declined by 0.31 CT (P<0.0001) per diopter of SE and was 0.19 CT (P<0.0001) shallower in women than in men (r2=0.1304, P<0.0001). Peripheral ACD performed best in screening for PACD. Conclusions Peripheral ACD measurement is recommended for PACD screening in community elderly Chinese.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wenwen Xue ◽  
Qin Luo ◽  
Yin Yuan ◽  
Chaowei Fu ◽  
Jiangnan He ◽  
...  

Abstract Purpose To investigate the distribution of peripheral anterior chamber depth (ACD) and the relationship between peripheral ACD and gonioscopy compared to other ocular parameters (peripheral ACD, spherical equivalent [SE], intraocular pressure [IOP]) for primary angle closure disease (PACD) screening in an elderly Chinese community. Methods Cross-sectional study. Adults 50 and older were enrolled from a population-based study using cluster random sampling in Pudong New District, Shanghai. Remote ocular screening was performed with digital anterior eye structure photography. Van Herrick measurements were used to evaluate the peripheral ACD, the depth of the peripheral anterior chamber, and corneal thickness (CT), and the ACD to CT ratio was calculated. Subjects with peripheral ACD less than 0.5 CT were made follow-up appointments for clinical examination with gonioscopy. Receiver operating characteristic curves (ROC) were generated to show the performance of different tests in screening for primary angle closure disease (PACD). Results 2528 adults participated in the study with 91 patients diagnosed with PACD. 2463 subjects had valid data in the right eye available for analysis. The mean peripheral ACD values for men and women were significantly different: 1.04±0.46 (range 0.11-2.93) CT and 0.87±0.41 (range 0.12-2.96) CT respectively (t=-4.18; P<0.0001). Multivariate logistic regression analysis reveals that peripheral ACD declined by 0.31 CT (P<0.0001) per diopter of SE and was 0.19 CT (P<0.0001) shallower in women than in men (r2=0.1304, P<0.0001). Peripheral ACD performed best in screening for PACD. Conclusions Peripheral ACD measurement is recommended for PACD screening in community elderly Chinese.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qin Luo ◽  
Wenwen Xue ◽  
Yin Yuan ◽  
Chaowei Fu ◽  
Jiangnan He ◽  
...  

Abstract Background To investigate the distribution of peripheral anterior chamber depth (ACD) and the relationship between peripheral ACD and gonioscopy compared to other ocular parameters for primary angle closure disease (PACD) screening. Methods Cross-sectional study. Adults 50 and older were enrolled from a population-based study using cluster random sampling in Pudong New District, Shanghai. Remote ocular screening was performed with digital anterior eye structure photography. Van Herrick measurements were used to evaluate the peripheral ACD, the depth of the peripheral anterior chamber, and corneal thickness (CT), and the ACD to CT ratio was calculated. Subjects with peripheral ACD less than 0.5 CT were made follow-up appointments for clinical examination with gonioscopy. Receiver operating characteristic curves (ROC) were generated to show the performance of different tests in screening for primary angle closure disease (PACD). Results 2528 adults participated in the study with 91 patients diagnosed with PACD. 2463 subjects had valid data in the right eye available for analysis. The mean peripheral ACD values for men and women were significantly different: 1.04±0.46 (range 0.11-2.93) CT and 0.87±0.41 (range 0.12-2.96) CT respectively (t=-4.18; P<0.0001). Multivariate logistic regression analysis reveals that peripheral ACD declined by 0.31 CT (P<0.0001) per diopter of SE and was 0.19 CT (P<0.0001) shallower in women than in men (r2=0.1304, P<0.0001). Peripheral ACD performed best in screening for PACD. Conclusions Peripheral ACD measurement is recommended for PACD screening in community elderly Chinese.


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