Opera

The adoption of the Lenus Diagnose pathway for Heart Failure was compared to the existing pathway, estimating trade-offs between the pathways in costs and outcomes. An economic evaluation, consisting of cost-consequence, cost-utility and budget impact analyses, were conducted. The value of potential efficiency gains for the National Health Service (NHS) was estimated in a Health Technology Assessment (HTA).

Study Objectives

This research evaluates the economic value of adopting a new digitized heart failure diagnostic pathway compared to the traditional pathway from the perspectives of both the NHS and patients. The study used a model-based approach to conduct a cost-consequence analysis, cost-utility analysis, and budget impact analysis over both 12-month and lifetime horizons. Key outcomes measured included quality of life, waiting times, and healthcare contacts, while costs considered encompassed diagnosis, hospitalisation, and treatment.

Results

Over a 12-month period, the new pathway demonstrated benefits from both NHS and patient perspectives, such as quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) gains, fewer unnecessary tests, and reduced waiting times. However, there were additional costs primarily due to faster treatment initiation. Despite this, the lifetime analysis indicated that the new pathway is highly cost-effective, with an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of £4,700 per QALY gained at a £20,000 willingness-to-pay threshold.

Key findings

• The digital diagnostic pathway for heart failure leads to better patient outcomes, including a gain of 0.02 quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) per patient over 12 months.
• Fewer unnecessary tests result in savings of approximately £150 per patient.
• Patients experience an average reduction in waiting times of 10 days for diagnosis and treatment initiation.
• The digital pathway incurs additional treatment costs of about £200 per patient due to faster intervention.
• The digital pathway is highly cost-effective over a patient’s lifetime, with an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of £4,700 per QALY gained, well below the £20,000 willingness-to-pay threshold.
• Overall, the digital diagnostic pathway reduces hospital admissions by 15% and provides a more efficient use of NHS resources.