Real-World Reductions in Healthcare Resource Utilization over 6Months in Patients with Substance Use Disorders Treated with a Prescription Digital Therapeutic.

Abstract

Background and AimsSubstance use disorders (SUDs) affect approximately 40.3 million people in the USA, yet only approximately 19% receive evidence-based treatment each year. reSET® is a prescription digital therapeutic (PDT) and the only FDA-authorized treatment for patients with cocaine, cannabis, and stimulant use disorders. This study evaluated real-world healthcare resource utilization (HCRU) and associated costs 6 months after initiation of reSET in patients with SUD.MethodsA retrospective analysis of HealthVerity PrivateSource20 data compared the 6-month incidence of all-cause hospital facility encounters and clinician services in patients treated with reSET (re-SET cohort) before (pre-index period) and after (post-index period) reSET initiation (index). Incidence was compared using incidence rate ratios (IRR). HCRU-related costs were also assessed.ResultsThe sample included 101 patients (median age 37 years, 50.5% female, 54.5% Medicaid-insured). A statistically significant decrease of 50% was observed in overall hospital encounters from pre-index to post-index (IRR 0.50; 95% CI 0.37–0.67; P < 0.001), which included inpatient stays (56% decrease; IRR 0.44; 95% CI 0.26–0.76; P = 0.003), partial hospitalizations (57% decrease; IRR 0.43; 95% CI 0.21–0.88; P = 0.021), and emergency department visits (45% decrease; IRR 0.55; 95% CI 0.38–0.80; P < 0.004). Additionally, some clinician services declined significantly including pathology and laboratory services: other (54% decrease; IRR 0.46; 95% CI 0.28–0.76; P = 0.003); pathology and laboratory services: drug assays prior to opioid medication prescription (37% decrease; IRR 0.63; 95% CI 0.41–0.96; P = 0.031); and alcohol and drug abuse: medication services (46% decrease; IRR 0.54; 95% CI 0.41–0.70; P < 0.001). Reductions in facility-encounters drove 6-month reSET per-patient cost reductions of $3591 post-index compared to pre-index.ConclusionsUse of reSET by patients with SUD is associated with durable reductions in HCRU and lower healthcare costs over 6 months compared to the 6 months before PDT treatment, after adjusting for covariates, providing an economic benefit to the healthcare system.Graphical abstract Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12325-022-02215-0.