Browsing by Subject "Cost-effectiveness"
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Item Open Access Extended-release naltrexone and drug treatment courts: Policy and evidence for implementing an evidence-based treatment.(J Subst Abuse Treat, 2017-02-28) Robertson, Allison G; Swartz, Marvin SWith insufficient access to treatment and a tradition of criminalizing addiction, people with substance use disorders - including opioid dependence - are more likely to be incarcerated than they are to receive the treatment they need. Drug treatment courts aim to address this problem, engaging their participants in substance use treatment in lieu of incarceration. Drug courts offer an especially important window of opportunity to connect opioid-dependent participants to extended-release naltrexone (XR-NTX), at a time when they are under highly-structured court supervision and required to detoxify from opioids to participate. Given the high cost of XR-NTX and high rates of uninsurance in the drug court population, new rigorous cost-effectiveness evidence is needed to demonstrate the extent to which XR-NTX improves program outcomes, including by reducing recidivism. With that new evidence, drug courts and the counties in which they are situated can make informed and difficult policy decisions about funding XR-NTX for some of their highest-risk community members.Item Open Access High Suspicion Sub-Centimeter Thyroid Nodules: Cost-Effectiveness of Active Surveillance versus Fine Needle Aspiration.(Journal of vascular and interventional radiology : JVIR, 2022-11) Woon, Tian Kai; Zhou, Ke; Tan, Bien Soo; Matchar, David BPurpose
To compare the cost-benefit of active surveillance (AS) against immediate fine needle aspiration (FNA) of sonographically suspicious sub-centimeter thyroid nodules.Methods
A Markov model was constructed to compare the cost-benefit of three strategies from point of discovery till death: 1) Surveillance of All Nodules; 2) Surveillance of Nodules with Positive Cytology; and 3) Surgery of Nodules with Positive Cytology. The reference case was a 40 year-old female with a sonographically suspicious sub-centimeter thyroid nodule. Transition probabilities, costs, and health utilities were derived from the literature. Sensitivity analyses were performed to evaluate model uncertainty. Willingness-to-pay threshold was set at $100,000/quality-adjusted life year (QALY).Results
Surveillance of Nodules with Positive Cytology dominated in the reference scenario, and was cost-beneficial over Surveillance of All Nodules independent of the utility of AS. Surveillance of All Nodules was cost-beneficial only at life expectancy <2.6 years or surveillance duration <4 years.Conclusion
While current guidelines recommend AS of sonographically suspicious sub-centimeter nodules, this study's results suggest immediate FNA (Surveillance of Nodules with Positive Cytology) is more cost-beneficial compared to AS (Surveillance of All Nodules). Patients with positive cytology on FNA may subsequently opt for AS (Surveillance of Nodules with Positive Cytology) or surgery (Surgery of Nodules with Positive Cytology) according to their level of comfort (i.e. utility) with AS.