Cost-Effectiveness of Osteoporosis Screening in Women Over 40-Year-Old

Fereshte Keshavarzi; Elham Aflaki; Mehrdad Askarian; Nahid Hatam

doi:10.18502/acta.v59i11.7777

Fereshte Keshavarzi Department of Health Administration, School of Management and Information Sciences, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran
Elham Aflaki Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran
Mehrdad Askarian Department of Community Medicine, School of Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran
Nahid Hatam Department of Health Administration, School of Management and Information Sciences, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18502/acta.v59i11.7777

Keywords: Osteoporosis; Cost-effectiveness; Screening

Abstract

Osteoporosis is a disease recognized by bone density reduction and is particularly common among older women, which imposes them to fractures. The evidence shows that if do no serious conflict with this issue, in the far little future, huge costs will be imposed on individuals, families, and the country. In this study, we studied the cost-effectiveness of osteoporosis screening in women over 40 years of age in Shiraz in 2016. This cross-sectional study was performed on 240 persons who were screened and 240 non-screened persons in the bone mineral density ward of Shiraz Namazi Hospital. The costs were identified and from the perspective of the insurer and the payer, which included only direct health care costs. To measure the effectiveness, the use of indicators as quality-adjusted life-years (QALY), the expected cost and effectiveness, and the Incremental cost-effectiveness ratio were calculated. The results showed that non-screening is the best strategy, given that the amount of ICER was obtained at $38484.56 and the threshold. As a result, the non-screening method compared to screening is cost-effective. The relevant authorities and proficients should prevent the progression of disease complications and consequently prevent the increase of the disease cost and improve the quality of life of the patients.