A Pharmacoeconomic Study of Respiratory Medications for Hospice Patients with End-Stage Respiratory Disease.

Abstract

Background: End-stage respiratory disease and compromised clinical status can hinder patients' ability to use inhalers for effective symptom management. Nebulized and oral medications offer an alternative drug delivery method that may provide therapeutic benefits and reduce medication expenditure. Objectives: Primary research objectives were to determine the cost per patient per claim per day for inhaler devices, nebulized medications, or oral corticosteroids and to estimate the monetary waste generated by using inhalers at the end of life. Design: A retrospective pharmacoeconomic analysis of claims adjudicated by a national hospice-centric pharmacy benefit manager between January 1, 2017, and December 31, 2019. Setting/Subjects: A total of 37,935 adult patients (aged ≥18 years) admitted to hospice with a primary diagnosis of end-stage respiratory disease in the United States were included in the study. Results: A total of 295,451 claims for inhalers, nebulized medications, and oral corticosteroids were analyzed. The mean costs per patient per claim per day were $10.64 for inhalers, $3.28 for nebulized medications, and $1.02 for oral corticosteroids. These costs were significantly different from each other (all p values <0.001). Total monetary waste resulting from unused inhaler doses was $1,040,669, with 21.0%, 13.1%, and 7.3% of patients having claims for inhalers within 30, 14, and 7 days of discharge, respectively. Conclusions: Inhaler use near the end of life generates a significant amount of monetary waste. Using a combination of nebulized and oral medications could reduce health care costs. Nebulized medications may generate less waste since providers can tailor the dispensed supply to the patient's needs rather than using the standard one-month supply of inhaler devices.