Health Economics Evaluation (HEE) Research Unit

Health Economics Evaluation (HEE) Research Unit

UniCamillus established the Health Economic Evaluation (HEE) Research Unit in June 2020, which focuses on economic models to apply to health issues and organizations. The unit is involved in different research projects at national and international level.

The projects set out to analyze and compare different therapeutic alternatives from a cost-effectiveness perspective and have the goal of providing decision makers with a decision-making instrument based on concrete and substantial data.

 

Project Coordinator: Prof. Alessandro Signorini

Researchers: Prof. Matteo Ruggeri, Ms. Silvia Caravaggio

Partners/Project Funders: Gilead Sciences, Grunenthal Italia, Roche SpA

Covid-19
Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain

Research topic: Cost-effectiveness evaluation of therapeutic treatments on Covid-19 patients

Evaluation of Antiretrovirals

The research evaluates how the antiretroviral drug therapy can prevent admission to intensive care in patients with Covid-19, reduce the need for mechanical ventilation in infected patients, and decrease the number of deceased. Also, the research estimates the economic effects of the therapy on the National Health System (NHS) in terms of costs and benefits.

The research consists of the following phases:

– Analysis of the epidemiological evolution in the country of interest

– Literature review and data collection

– Interviews with medical doctors and industry experts

– Population of the statistical and economic model

– Simulation of various scenarios with different treatments

– Final scientific report

– Participation in national and international conferences

– National and international publication in trade journals

 

The research is carried out through economic and statistical analysis with data collected from primary and secondary sources, for example, hospitals, government sources, peer-reviewed academic articles.

The research involves three key phases:

– The first phase consists in the analysis of the epidemiological situation of Covid-19 in the country concerned and a study of the scientific literature and open source database.

– The second phase consists in confronting a group of experts – usually medical doctors and researchers specializing in Covid-19. During the various interviews with the experts, the data that will be used in the third phase for the population of the model are agreed.

– The third phase consists of the population of the model which allows to conduct both the scenario analysis and the cost-effectiveness analysis of the treatments under investigation.

The research is finalized with the drafting of a final scientific report that serves as a decision-making instrument for decision-makers when choosing the pharmacological treatment to adopt.

This project simulates different scenarios in which hospitals may find themselves. Therefore, the analysis of the scenarios allows decision makers to limit over-use of intensive care units in hospitals, and allocate economic resources more efficiently, generating significant savings.

Projects

So far, this research project has been conducted in four countries, Italy, Saudi Arabia, Portugal and the United Arab Emirates, and three projects were completed, Italy, Saudi Arabia and Portugal.

Italy: The analysis carried out in the Italian context led to a first publication: Ruggeri, M., Signorini, A., Drago, C., Rosiello, F. and Marchetti, M. (2020), Modello di stima dei costi sanitari e della capacity delle terapie intensive in Italia nel trattamento di pazienti affetti da COVID-19: valutazione dell’impatto di remdesivir, AboutOpen, HTA and Market Access, Vol. 7, Issue 1, pp. 95-102.

The project was funded by Gilead Italy SpA 

Saudi Arabia: The results obtained from the analysis in the Saudi Arabian context were accepted and presented at two international conferences:

Ruggeri M., Signorini A., Caravaggio S., Alraddadi B., Alali A.H., Kozma S., Harfouche C., AlMusawi T. (2021), The estimation of direct hospital costs and Intensive Care Units (ICU) admissions for COVID-19 patients and the assessment of the impact of remdesivir administration in the Saudi Arabian context, ISAAR International Symposium on Antimicrobial Agents and Resistance, Sep. 9-10, 2021, Seoul, South Korea.

Ruggeri M., Signorini A., Caravaggio S., Alraddadi B., Alali A.H., Kozma S., Harfouche C., AlMusawi T. (2021), The estimation of direct hospital costs and Intensive Care Units (ICU) admissions for COVID-19 patients and the assessment of the impact of remdesivir administration in the Saudi Arabian context, 1st SSCP Saudi Society of Clinical Pharmacy Annual International Conference 2021, September 7th-9th, 2021, Riyad, Saudi Arabia

The final scientific report is currently being published in an international journal.

The project was funded by Gilead Sciences.

Portugal: The analysis in the Portuguese context was concluded and the final scientific report is currently being published, the article was submitted to the international journal Clinical Drug Investigation and is under review. Ruggeri M., Signorini A., Caravaggio S., Caetano S., Rua, J., Nuno L., Braz, S., Filipa Aragão, F. (2021), Estimation model for healthcare costs and intensive care units (ICUs) access for Covid-19 patients and evaluation of the effects of Remdesivir in the Portuguese context.

The project was entirely funded by Gilead Sciences.

United Arab Emirates: The project was suspended by Gilead Sciences after carrying out the first and second design phases, in detail, literature review and meeting with experts with the selection and data analysis. During the interviews with the experts, a preference to conduct the comparative evaluation on an alternative drug emerged but this evaluation was temporarily suspended by Gilead Sciences.

Evaluation of Monoclonal Antibodies

The research involves a cost-effectiveness analysis for the administration of monoclonal antibodies on patients suffering from or exposed to Covid-19. At the moment, the first design phases were completed, in detail, literature review, analysis and data collection, and model population. Once the various scenario and cost-effectiveness analysis are accomplished, a final scientific report will summarize the conclusions of the research with subsequent publication in an international journal.

Project financed by Roche SpA.

Research topic: Cost-effectiveness analysis of pharmacological therapeutic alternatives on patients suffering from chronic musculoskeletal pain

Evaluation of the Opioid Therapy

Musculoskeletal pain is one of the most common in Europe and causes numerous physical and social discomforts and problems, also resulting in one of the main causes of disability.

The research aims to highlight the most effective opioid-based drug therapy from an economic point of view compared to a wide range of formulations, taking into account the adverse effects and costs in the Italian market.

The research consists of the following phases:

– Analysis of the pathology in Italy

– Literature review and data collection

– Interviews with medical doctors and industry experts

– Population of the statistical and economic model

– Economic analysis with different treatments

– Final scientific report

– Participation in national and international workshops and conferences

– National and international publication

 

The project consists of an economic and statistical analysis, the data were extrapolated from primary and secondary sources, such as hospitals, government sources, peer reviewed academic articles.

The key phases of the project were the following:

– Analysis of the Italian healthcare context, review of the scientific literature and consultation of open source databases.

– Interviews with experts who contributed to the selection and validation of the data used in the population of the statistical and economic model.

– Implementation of the model and cost-effectiveness analysis on the pharmaceutical product.

The research project is finalized with a final scientific report that can serve as a decision-making instrument when choosing the treatment to be administered to patients suffering from chronic musculoskeletal pain. The final purpose is to provide a better quality of life to patients, generating significant savings for the health facilities.

The project was concluded at the beginning of 2021, and was presented at two workshops in Motore Sanità. The scientific report was published in an Italian journal and in an international journal:

Ruggeri, M., Signorini, A., Caravaggio, S., Ruggeri, F. and Coluzzi, F. (2021), Cost-Effectiveness Analysis of Tapentadol versus Oxycodone/Naloxone in both Branded and Generic Formulations in Patients with Musculoskeletal Pain, Clinical Drug Investigation, Sep. 15, 2021.

Ruggeri, M., Signorini, A., Caravaggio, S. and Ruggeri, F. (2021), Analisi Costo-Efficacia del Tapentadolo versus Ossicodone/Naloxone – nelle Formulazioni Branded e Generiche –su Pazienti con Dolore Muscoloscheletrico, Italian Journal of Preventive, Diagnostic and Therapeutic Medicine, Jun. 2021, Vol. 4, Issue 1.

The project was entirely funded by Grunenthal Italia.