Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Health Care Resource Utilisation and Costs in Asthma in England: A Population-Based Study
Author(s)
Rothnie KJ1, Tritton T2, Han X3, Holbrook T2, Numbere B1, Ford AF2, Massey L2, Fu Q3, Hutchinson FM4, Birch HJ1, Leather D5, Sharma R1, Compton C1, Ismaila A3
1Value Evidence and Outcomes, R&D Global Medical, GlaxoSmithKline, Brentford, Middlesex, UK, 2Adelphi Real World, Bollington, Cheshire, UK, 3Value Evidence and Outcomes, R&D Global Medical, GlaxoSmithKline, Collegeville, PA, USA, 4Country Medical Office – United Kingdom and Ireland GlaxoSmithKline, Brentford, Middlesex, UK, 5Global Medical Affairs, GlaxoSmithKline, London, UK
Presentation Documents
OBJECTIVES:
Delivery of medical care for chronic diseases has been disrupted by the COVID‑19 pandemic. We describe all-cause and asthma-related healthcare resource utilisation (HCRU) and costs among patients with asthma during the initial period of the COVID-19 pandemic in England.METHODS:
This was a retrospective dynamic cohort study of English asthma patients aged ≥18 years, for the period from Mar 2019 until Aug 2020 using primary care and linked hospital data. We assessed monthly all-cause and asthma-related HCRU and total direct healthcare costs over the study period and compared the months of the early pandemic (April–Aug 2020) to prior years.RESULTS:
In total, 823,645 asthma patients were included (mean [SD] age: 51.4 [17.7] years, 58.1% females). Mean monthly all‑cause face-to-face primary care, secondary care outpatient, and inpatient admissions were lower in April 2020 compared with April 2019, with reductions of 70.2%, 38.5%, and 50.0%, respectively. Mean monthly all-cause telephone primary care consultations increased 270% between April 2019 and April 2020. Mean total all-cause healthcare costs were 35.9% lower in April 2020 compared with April 2019. Mean monthly asthma-related face to face primary care and inpatient admissions were lower in April 2020 compared with April 2019, with reductions of 66.7% and 50.0%, respectively. There was no difference in asthma-related outpatient attendances. Mean monthly asthma-related telephone primary care consultations increased 800% between April 2019 and April 2020. Mean total asthma-related healthcare costs were 45.7% lower in April 2020 compared with April 2019. The levels of healthcare interactions following April 2020 did not return to pre-pandemic levels by the end of the observation period.CONCLUSIONS:
All-cause and asthma-related primary care and inpatient admissions decreased among patients with asthma during the COVID-19 pandemic. Telemedicine became a more frequently used channel for accessing healthcare during the early pandemic for asthma patients. Funding: GSK (214629)Conference/Value in Health Info
2022-11, ISPOR Europe 2022, Vienna, Austria
Value in Health, Volume 25, Issue 12S (December 2022)
Code
SA62
Topic
Economic Evaluation
Disease
STA: Drugs