Estimating the economic impacts of percutaneous coronary intervention in Australia: a registry-based cost burden study.

Objectives: In this study, we sought to evaluate the costs of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) across a variety of indications in Victoria, Australia, using a direct per-person approach, as well as to identify key cost drivers.
Design: A cost-burden study of PCI in Victoria was conducted from the Australian healthcare system perspective.
Setting: A linked dataset of patients admitted to public hospitals for PCI in Victoria was drawn from the Victorian Cardiac Outcomes Registry (VCOR) and the Victorian Admitted Episodes Dataset. Generalised linear regression modelling was used to evaluate key cost drivers. From 2014 to 2017, 20 345 consecutive PCIs undertaken in Victorian public hospitals were captured in VCOR.
Primary Outcome Measures: Direct healthcare costs attributed to PCI, estimated using a casemix funding method.
Results: Key cost drivers identified in the cost model included procedural complexity, patient length of stay and vascular access site. Although the total procedural cost increased from $A55 569 740 in 2014 to $A72 179 656 in 2017, mean procedural costs remained stable over time ($A12 521 in 2014 to $A12 185 in 2017) after adjustment for confounding factors. Mean procedural costs were also stable across patient indications for PCI ($A9872 for unstable angina to $A15 930 for ST-elevation myocardial infarction) after adjustment for confounding factors.
Conclusions: The overall cost burden attributed to PCIs in Victoria is rising over time. However, despite increasing procedural complexity, mean procedural costs remained stable over time which may be, in part, attributed to changes in clinical practice.
Competing Interests: Competing interests: PL is supported by an Australian Government Research Training Program (RTP) scholarship (Award/Grant number is not applicable). EZ has received grants from Amgen, Astra Zeneca, Pfizer, Shire and Zoll Medical Corporation outside of the submitted work. DL has received honoraria or study grants from Abbvie, Amgen, Astellas, AstraZeneca, Bohringer Ingelheim, Bristol Myers Squibb, Novartis, Pfizer, Sanofi, Shire and Zoll Medical Corporation, outside the submitted work. DS is supported by the National Heart Foundation Fellowship and Viertel Foundation Award. CMR is supported by a National Health and Medical Research Council Principal Research Fellowship (GNT1136372). All other authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose.
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