Study finds behavior modification intervention cost-effective for CKD
A study analyzing behavior modification interventions for chronic kidney disease found the intervention to be cost-effective and a justifiable use of health care resources.
Researchers published the findings in the Journal of Renal Nutrition.
“The widespread use of innovative intervention practices always raises concerns about value for money,” wrote Reiko Okubo, MD, PhD, of the University of Tsukuba, and colleagues. “It remains unclear whether the diffusion of this effective behavior modification intervention would be a justifiable use of limited health care resources because no economic evaluation studies have been conducted.”
Researchers for the Frontier of Renal Outcome Modifications in Japan (FROM-J) study enrolled 2,349patients (aged 40-70 years) with stage 3 CKD who were assigned to two practice groups, one consisting of the current CKD guideline-based practice and the other utilizing the behavior modification intervention with the current CKD guideline-based practice. Researchers utilized a Markov model with a societal perspective under Japan’s health care system to compare the use of quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) and cost-effectiveness of behavior modifications of both groups in the FROM-J study.
According to the findings, the studied intervention cost more and gained more than the current guideline-based practice, with an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of 145,593 Japanese yen ($1,324) per QALY.
“An innovative CKD care system can prevent the progression of kidney dysfunction and complications, with general physicians, nephrologists and other health care staff members playing their own role in accordance with the guidelines,” wrote Okubo and colleagues. “Our results suggest that diffusing the behavior modification intervention proven effective by the FROM-J study could be justifiable as an efficient use of finite health care resources.”
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