The Budget Impact of Introducing a Centralized Point of Care Testing Management System in a Hospital in China

Speaker(s)

Lyu J1, Wang Y2, Wang H3, Bi W4, Shi J5, Du Y6, Liu X7, Yang X8, Li D9
1Jinan University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China, 2Zhucheng City People's Hospital, Zhucheng, Shandong, China, 3Weihai City Hospital, Weihai, Shandong, China, 4Weifang City Chinese Medicine Hospital, Weifang, Shandong, China, 5Zhoucun People's Hospital, Zibo, Shandong, China, 6PKUCare Zibo Hospital, Zibo, Shandong, China, 7University of California, Los Angeles, White Plains, NY, USA, 8University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA, 9Guangdong Province Health Economics Association, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China

Presentation Documents

OBJECTIVES: To estimate the economic impact of introducing a centralized point-of-care testing (POCT) management system to manage all POCT machines in a hospital from a hospital’s perspective and a patient's perspective in China.

METHODS: A budget impact model was developed to evaluate the difference in total healthcare costs per year and per patient per year (PPPY) costs before and after introducing a centralized POCT management system to manage all machines and patient records for a hypothetical of 100,000 patients in a hospital. The model evaluated hospital operational costs (i.e., labor costs for testing and machine quality control (QC), supplies costs, POCT maintenance, and depreciation costs) and patient costs (i.e., testing costs, treatment costs, and hospitalization costs). Costs were estimated in 2024 Chinese Yuan. Model inputs, including the hands-on time of each test, maintenance frequency and time, the number of patients needing POCT tests and hospitalization, retest rate, and hospital length of stay were obtained from published sources or expert opinions.

RESULTS: In the base case, the inclusion of the centralized POCT management system decreased the hospital budget by ￥0.96 million and ￥92 PPPY from a patient’s perspective. The budget decrease was mainly due to shorter hands-on time for each test and QC time for POCT machines, lower supply costs, and lower depreciation costs due to underutilized POCT machines, and fewer machine maintenance efforts. Results were most sensitive to the hands-on time spent on each test.

CONCLUSIONS: The inclusion of a centralized POCT management system to manage all POCTs offers a cost-efficient approach with a decrease in the healthcare budget from both a hospital’s perspective and a patient’s perspective in China.

Code

EE82

Topic

Economic Evaluation

Topic Subcategory

Budget Impact Analysis

Disease

Medical Devices, No Additional Disease & Conditions/Specialized Treatment Areas