Health economics of infectious diseases and related complications in various contexts
Health economics of infectious diseases and related complications in various contexts
The overall aim of the research in the thesis of Clazinus Veijer was to investigate health economic aspects of various medical conditions in the field of infectious diseases. The research chapters pertain to different types of health economic evidence and economic evaluations for health technology assessment (HTA). Inter-country variation of clinical and economic evidence was investigated as secondary aim.
The first study related to healthcare resource use (HCRU) and costs of patients with coronavirus disease (Covid-19) and Post-Covid-19 Condition (PCC), based on a general population cohort in the Netherlands. The economic impact of PCC urges to include long-term complications of acute infections in policies regarding public health emergency preparedness.
Another study calculated the costs of patients with genital warts (GW) in Dutch primary care. The economic burden of GW emphasizes the need for effective interventions that mitigate the cost-of-illness. Next, two studies investigated inter-country variation of HCRU, productivity loss, and quality-of-life estimates in the context of community-acquired acute respiratory tract infections. Both studies underscore the relevance of performing country-specific economic evaluations within HTA.
Further, a systematic literature review concerning methodological characteristics of model-based economic evaluations of COVID-19 pharmaceuticals was performed. The study findings inspired the development of a patient-level state-transition model for the economic evaluation of interventions for patients suffering from acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). The generic model showed flexibility and reproducibility to investigate the cost-utility of a treatment strategy for ARDS and may be used and adapted for future cost-effectiveness analyses concerning other pharmaceutical interventions.