Health Economics Platform

Dr. Mohsen Sadatsafavi

Platform Leader: Dr. Mohsen Sadatsafavi

Team members:

Dr. Mark FitzGerald
Dr. Carlo Marra
Dr. Hamid Tavakoli
Wenjia Chen (PhD Candidate)
Zafar Zafari (PhD Candidate)

 

This project uses administrative health databases of the province of British Columbia, Canada, to estimate the economic burden of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and the role of other medical conditions (comorbidities) that patients with asthma and COPD often have. In particular, the project aims at achieving the following objectives:
 

Primary objectives:

1. Estimate the excess cost of asthma and COPD in BC (excess costs refer to the medical costs patients with asthma and COPD incur which is over and beyond the medical costs of individuals in the general population).

Hypothesis: none; this is a descriptive objective.

2. Estimate the excess costs of co-morbidities in patients with asthma and COPD

Hypothesis: compared to the general population, individuals with asthma/COPD incur more direct medical costs due to co-morbidities than individuals without asthma/COPD

Secondary objectives:

3. Estimate the trend in costs of asthma and COPD over time

Hypothesis: the overall costs of asthma and COPD have increased in the province; the per-patient cost of COPD has increased but the per-patient cost of asthma has decreased.

4. Estimate the contribution of inpatient, outpatient, and medication costs to the economic burden of asthma and COPD and their comorbidities.

Publications

Chen W, Sin DD, FitzGerald JM, Sadatsafavi M; Canadian Respiratory Research Network. Impact of specialty of care on long-term survival and costs of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. ERJ (Accepted)

Chen W, FitzGerald JM, Sin DD, Sadatsafavi M; Canadian Respiratory Research Network. Excess Economic Burden of Comorbidities in COPD: a 15-year population-based study. European Respiratory Journal. 2017. In press.

Johnson K, FitzGerald JM, Tavakoli H, Chen W, Sadatsafavi M. Stability of asthma symptom control in a longitudinal study of mild-moderate asthmatics. J Allergy Clin Immunol Pract. 2017 May 9. pii: S2213-2198(17)30243-X.

Zafari Z, Bryan S, Sin DD, Conte T, Khakban R, Sadatsafavi M. A systematic review of health economics simulation models of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Value Health. 2017 Jan;20(1):152-162.

Tavakoli H, FitzGerald JM, Chen W, Lynd L, Kendzerska T, Aaron S, Gershon A, Marra C, Sadatsafavi M; Canadian Respiratory Research Network. Ten-year trends in direct costs of asthma: a population-based study. Allergy. 2017 Feb;72(2):291-299.

Khakban A, Sin DD, FitzGerald JM, McManus B, Ng R, Hollander Z, Sadatsafavi M. The Projected Epidemic of COPD Hospitalizations Over the Next 15 Years: A Population Based Perspective. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2017 Feb 1;195(3):287-291.

Sadatsafavi M, Sin D, Zafari Z, Criner G, Connett J, Lazarus S, Han M, Martinez F, Albert R. The association between rate and severity of exacerbations in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: an application of a joint frailty-logistic model. Am J Epidemiol. 2016;184(9):681-689.

Zafari Z, Sin DD, Postma DS, Vonk JM, Bryan S, Lam S, Tammemagi C, Khakban R, Man PF, Tashkin D, Wise R, Connet J, McManus B, Ng R, Hollander Z, Sadatsafavi M. Individualized prediction of lung function decline in COPD. CMAJ. 2016 Oct 4;188(14):1004-1011.

Chen W, Lynd LD, FitzGerald JM, Sadatsafavi M. Influences of Socioeconomic Status on Costs of Asthma under Universal Health Coverage. Med Care. 2016 Aug;54(8):789-95.

Chen W, Marra CA, Lynd LA, FitzGerald JM, Zafari Z, Sadatsafavi M. The natural history of severe asthma and influences of early  risk factors: a population-based cohort study. Thorax. 2016 Mar;71(3):267-75.

History of Asthma in Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: A Comparative Study of Economic Burden.
Sadatsafavi M, Tavakoli H, Kendzerska T, Gershon A, To T, Aaron SD et al. History of Asthma in Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: A Comparative Study of Economic Burden. Ann Am Thorac Soc Published Online First: 24 November 2015. doi:10.1513/AnnalsATS.201508-507OC

10-Year Trends in Direct Costs of COPD: A Population Based Study
Khakban A, Sin DD, FitzGerald JM, Ng R, Zafari Z, McManus B, Hollander Z, Marra CA, Sadatsafavi M. 10-Year Trends in Direct Costs of COPD: A Population Based Study. Chest. 2015 Sep 1;148(3):640-6. doi: 10.1378/chest.15-0721.

Economic and health effect of full adherence to controller therapy in adults with uncontrolled asthma: A simulation study
Zafari Z, Lynd LD, FitzGerald JM, Sadatsafavi M. Economic and health effect of full adherence to controller therapy in adults with uncontrolled asthma: A simulation study. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2014 May 26.

Tavakoli H, FitzGerlad JM, Chen W, Lynd LD, Kendzerska T, Aaron SD, Gershon AS, Marra CA, Sadatsafavi M. Ten-year trends in direct costs of asthma: a population-based stud (Allergy – forthcoming)

Chen W, Lynd LD, FitzGerald JM, Marra CA, Balshaw R, To T, Tavakoli H, Sadatsafavi M. Excess medical costs in patients with asthma and the role of comorbidity (European Respiratory Journal - accepted)