Rotterdam, The Netherlands – Offering patients the possibility to “choose” their own care program (i.e., customized care) can be beneficial for both patients and hospitals.

Yet, there is little guidance on how to determine the cost-effectiveness of customized care while taking into account the preferences of specific patients. In the article, “Combining Individual-Level Discrete Choice Experiment Estimates And Costs To Inform Health Care Management Decisions About Customized Care: The Case of Follow-Up Strategies after Breast Cancer Treatment,” to be published in Value in Health, the authors demonstrate a method that combines cost data and individual-specific preference data to help health care decisions makers decide about issues with regard to customized care. The method is illustrated for the case of follow-up after breast cancer treatment. The study was authored by Tim M. Benning, Merel L. Kimman, Carmen D. Dirksen, Liesbeth J. Boersma, and Benedict G.C. Dellaert.

The article’s main finding is that offering patients a fully customized program, that allows them a choice from all possible follow-up programs, leads to higher utility and lower costs than the current standardized program. Health care decision makers are likely to benefit from using (the results of) this methodological approach when they consider implementing customized health care programs. The approach may help them to find ways to save costs and increase patient satisfaction.

Value in Health (ISSN 1098-3015) publishes papers, concepts, and ideas that advance the field of pharmacoeconomics and outcomes research as well as policy papers to help health care leaders make evidence-based decisions. The journal is published bi-monthly and has over 8,000 subscribers (clinicians, decision makers, and researchers worldwide).