title: Incremental costs associated with physician and pharmacist collaboration to improve blood pressure control.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To compare costs associated with a physician-pharmacist collaborative intervention with costs of usual care.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cost analysis using health care utilization and outcome data from two prospective, cluster-randomized, controlled clinical trials.
  
  
  METHODS
  Eleven community-based medical offices.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 496 patients with hypertension; 244 were in the usual care (control) group and 252 were in the intervention group.
  
  
  RESULTS
  To compare the costs, we combined cost data from the two trials. Total costs included costs of provider time, laboratory tests, and antihypertensive drugs. Provider time was calculated based on an online survey of intervention pharmacists and the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey. Cost parameters were taken from the Bureau of Labor Statistics for average wage rates, the Medicare laboratory fee schedule, and a publicly available Web site for drug prices. Total costs were adjusted for patient characteristics. Adjusted total costs were $774.90 in the intervention group and $445.75 in the control group (difference $329.16, p<0.001). In a sensitivity analysis, the difference in adjusted total costs between the two groups ranged from $224.27-515.56. The intervention cost required to have one additional patient achieve blood pressure control within 6 months was $1338.05, determined by the difference in costs divided by the difference in hypertension control rates between the groups ($329.16/24.6%). The cost over 6 months to lower systolic and diastolic blood pressure 1 mm Hg was $36.25 and $94.32, respectively.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The physician-pharmacist collaborative intervention increased not only blood pressure control but also the cost of care. Additional research, such as a cost-benefit or a cost-minimization analysis, is needed to assess whether financial savings related to reduced morbidity and mortality achieved from better blood pressure control outweigh the cost of the intervention.
authors: Department of Pharmacy Practice and Science, College of Pharmacy, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa 52242, USA.
authors: Puttarin
authors: P
authors: Kulchaitanaroaj
authors: John M
authors: JM
authors: Brooks
authors: Gail
authors: G
authors: Ardery
authors: Dana
authors: D
authors: Newman
authors: Barry L
authors: BL
authors: Carter
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000959:Antihypertensive Agents / Q000191:economics / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000187:drug effects; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D003365:Costs and Cost Analysis; D016527:Drug Costs; D005260:Female; D017048:Health Care Costs; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000191:economics; D007400:Interprofessional Relations; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010595:Pharmacists / Q000191:economics / Q000458:organization & administration*; D010820:Physicians / Q000191:economics / Q000458:organization & administration*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D000959:Antihypertensive Agents