While a new generation of safer, more effective oral medications to
treat hepatitis C patients may cost tens of thousands of dollars for a
12-week regiment, investing in these new therapies could generate
savings estimated at more than $3.2 billion annually in the U.S. and
five European countries, according to a new study.
The higher cure rate and lessened side-effects of treating patients
with an all-oral combination of ledipasvir and sofosbuvir (LDV/SOF)
results in greatly reduced absenteeism and improved workplace
productivity that can translate into enormous benefit, according to the
new economic model used by researchers at Inova Fairfax Medical Campus,
VA.
"From a clinical standpoint, we've long known about the devastating
health impacts that chronic hepatitis C has on a patient," said Zobair
Younossi, MD, chairman of the department of medicine at Inova and lead
researcher on the study. "But given the significant side-effects
previously associated with treating the disease, notably fatigue and
neuropsychiatric side effects, we were interested in looking at the
impact of new treatments on patients' ability to work, and in a broader
sense, how this effects employers and overall economies."
Labels: burden of disease, cost analysis, cost-effectveness