OBJECTIVES: According to estimations made for 2014, Colombian Health System spent about USD 10.2 million in the use of diagnostic images for Venous Thromboembolic Disease (VTE). From the total number of cases, 35.7% were reported as confirmed cases, equivalent to USD 3.5 Million. Because of this, we developed a budget impact analysis for inclusion of Pretest Probability Score (PTP) and D-Dimer Test (DD) in the VTE diagnostic protocol.

METHODS: A probabilistic decision tree was made showing two diagnostic protocol choices for VTE. One branch did not include PTP+DD (A). The other branch included PTP+DD (B). Data of VTE pathology distribution and total of cases reported were provided by SISPRO (Official National Health Database). We assumed the probability of positive-negative results and pathology distribution from Leganani et. al (2009). All related costs were obtained from the SOAT fare manual 2011 plus inflation. The model considered the follow-up of the patient and the use of resources and supplies only until the diagnosis. Besides, it was considered the risk of sub-estimated population due to pathology behavior in different ages ranges based on data presented by Silverstein et. al (1998).

RESULTS: From simulations, the A branch of the tree (no PTP+DD) presented an economic cost of USD 5.9 million. The B branch (PTP+DD) presented an economic cost of USD 4.4 million. The difference between both results presented savings up to 24.7% (USD 1.4 million). These results can be discriminated for PE and DVT.

CONCLUSIONS: Using PTP+DD in the VTE diagnostic protocol represented savings up to USD 1.4 million. That expense could be redirected to support thrombosis preventing campaigns. Lastly, the results presented in this work showed the importance of correct use of clinical practice guidelines and laboratory tests as a support in the diagnosis of high impact pathologies.