Economic outcomes of a targeted intervention program: the costs of treating allergic rhinitis patients.
OBJECTIVE
To determine the annual costs of treating allergic rhinitis patients in a managed care environment and to assess the effect of a treatment intervention program on direct and indirect costs.


METHODS
Two arms of an economics study were designed to calculate annual costs of treating allergic rhinitis in Lovelace Health Systems. Direct and indirect costs were also reviewed for patients participating in an intervention program designed to improve patient outcomes during the 1996 fall allergy season.


METHODS
Annual medical costs of treating allergic rhinitis within the Lovelace system were reviewed using a patient database. A total of 7936 patients with allergic rhinitis symptoms were identified in the database using a case-finding algorithm. An equal number of patients without allergy conditions were selected for the comparison group. In addition to calculating annual costs of treating allergic rhinitis, direct and indirect costs were reviewed for patients participating in a rhinitis intervention program to determine differences in cost between the treatment and control groups. An intervention group of 247 patients was selected to receive care at clinics randomized to use practice guidelines to improve treatment, while 255 patients were treated in the control group clinics, which did not alter treatment practices.


RESULTS
Annual expenditures were nearly $2 million more for the allergic rhinitis group than for the control group. In the intervention study, treatment and control groups expended the same in direct costs, but the intervention group showed a trend toward decreased indirect costs.


CONCLUSIONS
Costs of allergic rhinitis are not trivial to a managed care organization; a specifically designed intervention program shows potential for minimizing the costs associated with the ailment.
Santos
R
R
Department of Economics, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, USA. santos@unm.edu
Cifaldi
M
M
Gregory
C
C
Seitz
P
P
D018926:Anti-Allergic Agents / Q000191:economics / Q000627:therapeutic use; D017281:Cost of Illness; D003625:Data Collection; D003628:Database Management Systems; D016527:Drug Costs; D017048:Health Care Costs; D006801:Humans; D008329:Managed Care Programs / Q000191:economics*; D009516:New Mexico / Q000453:epidemiology; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care / Q000191:economics*; D015995:Prevalence; D012221:Rhinitis, Allergic, Perennial / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000191:economics* / Q000453:epidemiology; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology
D018926:Anti-Allergic Agents