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Research Article
21 February 2022

An impact evaluation of two modes of care for sickle cell disease crises

Authors: Robert Skinner https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0195-2121 [email protected], Andrew Breck https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0950-5796, and Dominick Esposito https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2995-9736Author Info & Affiliations
Volume 11, Number 6
https://doi.org/10.2217/cer-2021-0257
PDFFormats

Abstract

Aim: To estimate the economic impacts of increased use of specialty care infusion centers for treating adults experiencing vaso-occlusive crises. Methods: A Markov model is developed to estimate the impact of expanding use of specialty care infusion centers to treat vaso-occlusive crises compared to emergency department care. Results: Access to infusion centers for sickle cell disease could result in savings over US$1.9 billion in formal medical costs and over US$2 billion in societal costs, based on uptake assumptions over 10 years. Conclusion: Expansion of adult sickle cell disease centers across the nation could lead to considerably better economic outcomes in the form of reduced costs and hospital length of stay in addition to improved clinical outcomes as reported in the existing literature.

Plain language summary

Specialty care centers for sickle cell disease crises offer improved care and patient experience over typical emergency department care. This paper is based on a recent study, which compared the treatment for sickle cell disease crises at specialty centers and emergency departments by estimating the potential economic impacts of expanded specialty care centers. We estimate the impacts of increased specialty care use on healthcare costs, caregiver time, patient time and employer absenteeism costs. When 35% of the USA adult population acquires access to a specialty sickle cell disease center, a total savings over US$1.9 billion can be obtained after 10 years.

Supplementary Material

File (appendix a.docx)

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