1. Costs of infertility treatment: results from an 18-month prospective cohort study
- Author
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Katz, Patricia, Showstack, Jonathan, Smith, James F., Nachtigall, Robert D., Millstein, Susan G., Wing, Holly, Eisenberg, Michael L., Pasch, Lauri A., Croughan, Mary S., and Adler, Nancy
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FEMALE infertility , *MEDICAL care costs , *LONGITUDINAL method , *MEDICAL records , *HEALTH outcome assessment , *HUMAN in vitro fertilization , *OVUM donation , *COST analysis , *THERAPEUTICS , *INFERTILITY treatment , *PREGNANCY , *HUMAN reproductive technology , *INFERTILITY , *EVALUATION of medical care , *ECONOMICS - Abstract
Objective: To examine resource use (costs) by women presenting for infertility evaluation and treatment over 18 months, regardless of treatment pursued.Design: Prospective cohort study in which women were followed for 18 months.Setting: Eight infertility practices.Patient(s): Three hundred ninety-eight women recruited from infertility practices.Intervention(s): Women completed interviews and questionnaires at baseline and after 4, 10, and 18 months of follow-up. Medical records were abstracted after 18 months to obtain details of services used.Main Outcome Measure(s): Per-person and per-successful-outcome costs.Result(s): Treatment groups were defined as highest intensity treatment use. Twenty percent of women did not pursue cycle-based treatment; approximately half pursued IVF. Median per-person costs ranged from $1,182 for medications only to $24,373 and $38,015 for IVF and IVF-donor egg groups, respectively. Estimates of costs of successful outcomes (delivery or ongoing pregnancy by 18 months) were higher--$61,377 for IVF, for example--reflecting treatment success rates. Within the time frame of the study, costs were not significantly different for women whose outcomes were successful and women whose outcomes were not.Conclusion(s): Although individual patient costs vary, these cost estimates developed from actual patient treatment experiences may provide patients with realistic estimates to consider when initiating infertility treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]- Published
- 2011
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