Health services research
Cost analysis of narrowband UVB phototherapy in psoriasis

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Abstract

Background

There are few data available to health care providers regarding the costs of treating patients with psoriasis, and specifically the cost of phototherapy.

Objectives

As narrowband UVB (TL-01) has now become an established therapy for patients with psoriasis requiring phototherapy, we determined the annual cost of delivering TL-01 treatment in a university hospital.

Methods

The costing evaluation was from a hospital perspective and the strategy used was a microcosting detailed collection of resources used.

Results

The annual cost of TL-01 treatment in our teaching hospital was 53,555.00 euros. Staffing accounted for 70% of the cost. The average individual costs were 325.00 euros (range: 57.20-972.40).

Conclusion

These costs are significant but remain less expensive than inpatient treatment.

Section snippets

Background

St James's Hospital is a 700-bed university hospital in Dublin, Ireland. An outpatient department within the hospital provides the focus for outpatient treatment of patients with a primary diagnosis of psoriasis. Narrowband UVB treatment was initiated in our outpatient department in September 1998. Initially there was one 7001-UV Waldman (Waldman GmbH & Co, Villingen-Schwenningen, Germany) in use; a second unit was added in March 2000. A minimal erythema dose is determined in the majority of

Methods

The annual cost to the hospital of delivering a TL-01 phototherapy service to the patients who were included in the study were calculated using standard pharmacoeconomic microcosting methods.6, 7

The costs consisted of the following:

  • 1.

    Operational costs of the phototherapy department were calculated on the basis of percentage of hospital size in square feet and, therefore, the percentage of total annual expenditure from the hospital budget. The suite is 625 sq ft, which is 0.071% of total hospital

Demographic data

In all, 165 patients attended for narrowband UVB therapy for psoriasis at our institution during the 2-year period; 95 female and 70 male patients. Of these patients, 78 (47%) had undergone previous phototherapy. Of the patients, 43 (26%) had previous broadband UVB therapy, 31 (19%) had previous psoralen-UVA therapy, and 37 (22%) had previous TL-01 treatment.

During the 2-year period, the range of TL-01 exposures varied between 3 and 64 (this included patients who required more than 1 course

Discussion

Economic data are valuable to supplement clinical decisions and to weigh the costs and benefits of different therapeutic measures. There are minimal data available on the costs of psoriasis treatments in general and specifically on the costs of phototherapy and photochemotherapy. It is well documented that the economic impact of psoriasis varies according to the severity of disease, but few data are available on the absolute and real costs of psoriasis treatments.2, 3, 4, 5 This study

References (7)

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Funding sources: None.

Conflicts of interest: None identified.

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