Budget Impact of Implementing a Case-Finding Program in UK Patients at High Risk for COPD to Explore Cost Savings Due to Earlier Diagnosis
Author(s)
Michael Crooks, MD1, João Leite, MSc2, Sumayya Mushtaq, MSc3, Richard David Stork, MSc4, Gina Tarpey, MSc4, Jennifer Gilroy-Cheetham, MSc4.
1Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, Hull, United Kingdom, 2IQVIA, Oeiras, Portugal, 3IQVIA, London, United Kingdom, 4Chiesi, Manchester, United Kingdom.
1Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, Hull, United Kingdom, 2IQVIA, Oeiras, Portugal, 3IQVIA, London, United Kingdom, 4Chiesi, Manchester, United Kingdom.
OBJECTIVES: Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) causes breathing difficulties and is a progressive and irreversible disease. In the UK, the annual economic impact of COPD is £1.9 billion, covering medicines, monitoring, and hospitalisations due to exacerbations. Delayed diagnosis can postpone treatment and increase exacerbation risks. Currently, there is no national COPD case-finding programme in the UK. The benefits of identifying and diagnosing COPD patients earlier through COPD case-finding are being investigated. This study aimed to assess the potential budget impact of introducing a COPD case-finding programme to identify undiagnosed COPD patients from a high-risk population attending lung cancer screening, enabling earlier diagnosis and access to treatment.
METHODS: The analysis compared drug acquisition, monitoring, and exacerbation costs in a market without COPD case-finding to those same costs - plus the cost of case-finding - in a market where COPD case-finding is implemented. Calculating the cost differential allowed the budget impact to be predicted. Inputs were based on the best available data and assumptions, which were informed and validated by clinical expert opinion. The perspective of England’s National Health Service (NHS) over a 10-year time horizon was adopted for this analysis.
RESULTS: Results suggest that introducing a COPD case-finding programme would result in a net budget reduction. When considering an at-risk population size of 800 patients per year and a 48% expected COPD diagnosis rate, the case-finding programme leads to a saving of £636,625 after 10 years. Key reasons for the cumulative cost-saving included lower healthcare resource use resulting from lower exacerbation rates, particularly severe exacerbations, due to earlier diagnosis. The model was sensitive to severe exacerbation rates, particularly in later years, due to their high cost.
CONCLUSIONS: The introduction of a case-finding programme for UK patients at high risk of COPD may reduce rates of exacerbations and result in long-term cost savings for the NHS.
METHODS: The analysis compared drug acquisition, monitoring, and exacerbation costs in a market without COPD case-finding to those same costs - plus the cost of case-finding - in a market where COPD case-finding is implemented. Calculating the cost differential allowed the budget impact to be predicted. Inputs were based on the best available data and assumptions, which were informed and validated by clinical expert opinion. The perspective of England’s National Health Service (NHS) over a 10-year time horizon was adopted for this analysis.
RESULTS: Results suggest that introducing a COPD case-finding programme would result in a net budget reduction. When considering an at-risk population size of 800 patients per year and a 48% expected COPD diagnosis rate, the case-finding programme leads to a saving of £636,625 after 10 years. Key reasons for the cumulative cost-saving included lower healthcare resource use resulting from lower exacerbation rates, particularly severe exacerbations, due to earlier diagnosis. The model was sensitive to severe exacerbation rates, particularly in later years, due to their high cost.
CONCLUSIONS: The introduction of a case-finding programme for UK patients at high risk of COPD may reduce rates of exacerbations and result in long-term cost savings for the NHS.
Conference/Value in Health Info
2025-11, ISPOR Europe 2025, Glasgow, Scotland
Value in Health, Volume 28, Issue S2
Code
EE106
Topic
Economic Evaluation, Health Service Delivery & Process of Care
Topic Subcategory
Budget Impact Analysis
Disease
Respiratory-Related Disorders (Allergy, Asthma, Smoking, Other Respiratory)