The mean annual costs for an asthmatic patient was €741 (95% CI: 599 884) ranging from €379 (95% CI: 216 541) for well-controlled asthmatics to €1,341 (95% CI: 978 1,706) for poorly controlled cases that accounted for 46.2% of the total cost [ 7].
This fact also points to an even bigger problem facing the U.S. health care economy: the growing cost poorly controlled patients are incurring to deal with the many complications that can set in for them.
4 Available evidence suggests that poorly controlled diabetics have higher hospital costs than diabetics with optimal control.
As much of the costs of asthma derive from poorly controlled disease, it would follow that improved control can lower asthma-related costs.
It can be assumed that CGM would be cost-effective in poorly controlled type 1 diabetic patients because of the gain in long-term health benefits, as indicated by HbA1c lowering.
Randomized, controlled trials are needed to determine whether individualized diabetes education improves readmission rates for patients with poorly controlled diabetes and whether this intervention is cost-effective.
8 9 Further, gout patients with poorly controlled sUA levels incur on average higher healthcare costs than patients whose sUA levels are better controlled, and patients with higher sUA levels incur higher average medical costs related to gout flares, compared to patients with lower sUA levels.
Direct medical costs for diabetes (i.e. the total costs of medical care) are increased when diabetes is poorly controlled and diabetes complications are present (Gilmer et al. 2007).
For instance, the PHFI and its collaborators have created low-cost technology for monitoring people with poorly controlled hypertension and type 2 diabetes.
In addition, the costs associated with poor pregnancy and neonatal outcomes that can result from poorly controlled asthma i.e. pre-term births and low birth weight babies (parenteral nutrition costs, Neonatal Intensive Care admissions, assisted ventilation etc).
Drug acquisition costs constitute only a small part of the total treatment cost and switching is likely to incur costs through other aspects of healthcare provision, such as additional clinic visits and laboratory tests, as well as costs arising from any adverse effects of switching, including poorly controlled hypertension.
