Abstract
A knowledge gap exists around the costs and budget impact of specialist hypertension clinics. This study reports on the cost of providing care in a multidisciplinary hypertension clinic staffed by nephrologist, endocrinologist and cardiologist, which manages patients with suspected secondary hypertension and/or apparent treatment-resistant hypertension. The aim of this study is to provide the evidence required to inform policy and planning care pathways for this patient group. A cost analysis from a healthcare provider perspective using micro-costing techniques was conducted to estimate the direct implementation costs of existing standard practice for the care pathway of patients attending the multidisciplinary hypertension clinic. Sixty-five patients originally recruited for a study of medication adherence in hypertension were included in the sample. The total care-pathway cost per patient, taking into account clinic visits, clinical reviews, investigations and MDT discussion, was estimated to be €3277, on average. For the patient subgroups, the average cost was €5644 for patients diagnosed with primary aldosteronism and €1446 for patients diagnosed with essential hypertension. There is significant cost associated with providing specialized hypertension care for patients with apparent treatment-resistant hypertension. Given the high rates of nonadherence in this population, it is likely that some of this cost could be avoided with better detection and management of medication adherence in this challenging population. Future studies should consider the cost-effectiveness of this or similar models of care by exploring the benefit to patients and the wider healthcare context of providing care of this type.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.