Long-term cost-effectiveness of collaborative care (vs usual care) for people with depression and comorbid diabetes or cardiovascular disease: a Markov model informed by the COINCIDE randomised controlled trial

Camacho, Elizabeth M; Ntais, Dionysios; Coventry, Peter; Bower, Peter; Lovell, Karina; Chew-Graham, Carolyn; Baguley, Clare; Gask, Linda; Dickens, Chris; Davies, Linda M

Abstract

Objectives To evaluate the long-term cost-effectiveness of collaborative care (vs usual care) for treating depression in patients with diabetes and/or coronary heart disease (CHD).

Setting 36 primary care general practices in North West England.

Participants 387 participants completed baseline assessment (collaborative care: 191; usual care: 196) and full or partial 4-month follow-up data were captured for 350 (collaborative care: 170; usual care: 180). 62% of participants were male, 14% were non-white. Participants were aged ≥18 years, listed on a Quality and Outcomes Framework register for CHD and/or type 1 or 2 diabetes mellitus, with persistent depressive symptoms. Patients with psychosis or type I/II bipolar disorder, actively suicidal, in receipt of services for substance misuse, or already in receipt of psychological therapy for depression were excluded.

Intervention Collaborative care consisted of evidence-based low-intensity psychological treatments, delivered over 3 months and case management by a practice nurse and a Psychological Well Being Practitioner.

Outcome measures As planned, the primary measure of cost-effectiveness was the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (cost per quality-adjusted life year (QALY)). A Markov model was constructed to extrapolate the trial results from short-term to long-term (24 months).

Results The mean cost per participant of collaborative care was £317 (95% CI 284 to 350). Over 24 months, it was estimated that collaborative care was associated with greater healthcare usage costs (net cost £674 (95% CI −30 953 to 38 853)) and QALYs (net QALY gain 0.04 (95% CI −0.46 to 0.54)) than usual care, resulting in a cost per QALY gained of £16 123, and a likelihood of being cost-effective of 0.54 (willingness to pay threshold of £20 000).

Conclusions Collaborative care is a potentially cost-effective long-term treatment for depression in patients with comorbid physical and mental illness. The estimated cost per QALY gained was below the threshold recommended by English decision-makers. Further, long-term primary research is needed to address uncertainty associated with estimates of cost-effectiveness.

Citation

Camacho, E. M., Ntais, D., Coventry, P., Bower, P., Lovell, K., Chew-Graham, C., …Davies, L. M. (2016). Long-term cost-effectiveness of collaborative care (vs usual care) for people with depression and comorbid diabetes or cardiovascular disease: a Markov model informed by the COINCIDE randomised controlled trial. BMJ Open, 6(10), e012514. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2016-012514

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Online Publication Date: Oct 7, 2016
• Publication Date: 2016-10
• Deposit Date: Nov 24, 2023
• Journal: BMJ Open
• Electronic ISSN: 2044-6055
• Publisher: BMJ Publishing Group
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 6
• Issue: 10
• Pages: e012514
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2016-012514
• Keywords: General Medicine