Comprehensive cardiac rehabilitation: a cost assessment based on a randomized clinical trial.
OBJECTIVE
The costs of comprehensive cardiac rehabilitation are established and compared to the corresponding costs of usual care. The effect on health-related quality of life is analyzed.


METHODS
An unprecedented and very detailed cost assessment was carried out, as no guidelines existed for the situation at hand. Due to challenging circumstances, the cost assessment turned out to be ex-post and top-down.


RESULTS
Cost per treatment sequence is estimated to be approximately euro 976, whereas the incremental cost (compared with usual care) is approximately euro 682. The cost estimate is uncertain and may be as high as euro 1.877.


CONCLUSIONS
Comprehensive cardiac rehabilitation is more costly than usual care, and the higher costs are not outweighed by a quality of life gain. Comprehensive cardiac rehabilitation is, therefore, not cost-effective.
Kruse
Marie
M
National Institute of Public Health, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Hochstrasser
Stefan
S
Zwisler
Ann-Dorthe O
AD
Kjellberg
Jakob
J
D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000191:economics* / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D003365:Costs and Cost Analysis / Q000379:methods; D003718:Denmark; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D011788:Quality of Life; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic