title: Comparative effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of the implantable miniature telescope.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess the preference-based comparative effectiveness (human value gain) and the cost-utility (cost-effectiveness) of a telescope prosthesis (implantable miniature telescope) for the treatment of end-stage, age-related macular degeneration (AMD).
  
  
  METHODS
  A value-based medicine, second-eye model, cost-utility analysis was performed to quantify the comparative effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of therapy with the telescope prosthesis.
  
  
  METHODS
  Published, evidence-based data from the IMT002 Study Group clinical trial. Ophthalmic utilities were obtained from a validated cohort of >1000 patients with ocular diseases.
  
  
  METHODS
  Comparative effectiveness data were converted from visual acuity to utility (value-based) format. The incremental costs (Medicare) of therapy versus no therapy were integrated with the value gain conferred by the telescope prosthesis to assess its average cost-utility. The incremental value gains and incremental costs of therapy referent to (1) a fellow eye cohort and (2) a fellow eye cohort of those who underwent intra-study cataract surgery were integrated in incremental cost-utility analyses. All value outcomes and costs were discounted at a 3% annual rate, as per the Panel on Cost-Effectiveness in Health and Medicine.
  
  
  METHODS
  Comparative effectiveness was quantified using the (1) quality-adjusted life-year (QALY) gain and (2) percent human value gain (improvement in quality of life). The QALY gain was integrated with incremental costs into the cost-utility ratio ($/QALY, or US dollars expended per QALY gained).
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean, discounted QALY gain associated with use of the telescope prosthesis over 12 years was 0.7577. When the QALY loss of 0.0004 attributable to the adverse events was factored into the model, the final QALY gain was 0.7573. This resulted in a 12.5% quality of life gain for the average patient during the 12 years of the model. The average cost-utility versus no therapy for use of the telescope prosthesis was $14389/QALY. The incremental cost-utility referent to control fellow eyes was $14063/QALY, whereas the incremental cost-utility referent to fellow eyes that underwent intra-study cataract surgery was $11805/QALY.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Therapy with the telescope prosthesis considerably improves quality of life and at the same time is cost-effective by conventional standards.
authors: Center for Value-Based Medicine, Flourtown, Pennsylvania 19031, USA. gary0514@gmail.com
authors: Gary C
authors: GC
authors: Brown
authors: Melissa M
authors: MM
authors: Brown
authors: Heidi B
authors: HB
authors: Lieske
authors: Philip A
authors: PA
authors: Lieske
authors: Kathryn S
authors: KS
authors: Brown
authors: Stephen S
authors: SS
authors: Lane
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001187:Artificial Organs / Q000191:economics*; D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D003315:Cornea; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine; D005260:Female; D017048:Health Care Costs; D006801:Humans; D008268:Macular Degeneration / Q000191:economics / Q000628:therapy; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019736:Prostheses and Implants / Q000191:economics*; D019919:Prosthesis Implantation / Q000191:economics*; D011788:Quality of Life; D019057:Quality-Adjusted Life Years; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014792:Visual Acuity / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D001672:Biocompatible Materials