Cost-minimization analysis in health care is a comparative framework that encourages practitioners to introduce new solutions to care and rehabilitation in order to save costs and enhance efficiency. A prime example of such efficacy is demonstrated in the study by Xydopoulos et al. (2019) that focuses on implementing home blood pressure monitoring in the hypertensive pregnant population. In this case-control study, the sample of pregnant women was divided into the intervention and control groups, where the women in the intervention group were asked to record their blood pressure at home using written notes or a smartphone app. The results demonstrate that “the mean saving per week for HBPM compared with the control group was £200.69” (Xydopoulos et al., 2019, p. 496). For an intervention group using the app, savings per week were even higher, implying that home blood pressure monitoring provides more valuable insights into the pregnant women’s well-being and eventually saves costs for health monitoring.
Another study that demonstrates the efficiency of cost-minimization is the analysis conducted by Gonzalez et al. (2018). In this study, the researchers aimed at analyzing the cost-efficiency of the enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) program in patients who underwent video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery anatomical lung resections (p. 5879). The intervention and control groups of 50 patients each were monitored either with or without ERAS implementation. The results demonstrated that “average total hospitalization costs were significantly lower in the ERAS group” (Gonzalez et al., 2018, p. 5879). Such results were caused primarily by lower post-operative costs, with a mean saving per patient of approximately €3,686. Hence, it can be concluded that cost-minimization analysis is an efficient way to provide more practical and beneficial health solutions to the patients.
References
Gonzalez, M., Abdelnour-Berchtold, E., Perentes, J. Y., Doucet, V., Zellweger, M., Marcucci, C., Ris, H.-B., Krueger, T., & Gronchi, F. (2018). An enhanced recovery after surgery program for video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery anatomical lung resections is cost-effective. Journal of Thoracic Disease, 10(10), 5879-5888.
Xydopoulos, G., Perry, H., Sheehan, E., Thilaganathan, B., Fordham, R., & Khalil, A. (2019). Home blood pressure monitoring in a hypertensive pregnant population: cost‐minimization study. Ultrasound in Obstetrics & Gynecology, 53(4), 496-502.