Costs, Readmissions, and Negative Pressure Wound Therapies
Costs, Readmissions, and Negative Pressure Wound Therapies
In this retrospective claims database study, patients treated with NPWT-V had lower total costs and total wound-related costs based on lower overall resource use. Compared with patients treated with NPWT-O, total health care cost savings trended lower for patients treated with NPWT-V at 3 months and were significantly lower at 12 months. The primary drivers of cost savings for the NPWT-V group were significantly lower inpatient, emergency room, and home costs despite higher NPWT costs. Due to the importance of understanding how to manage outcomes and costs for patients with chronic wounds, further comparative studies on total cost to treat these patients with NPWT are warranted.
Conclusions
In this retrospective claims database study, patients treated with NPWT-V had lower total costs and total wound-related costs based on lower overall resource use. Compared with patients treated with NPWT-O, total health care cost savings trended lower for patients treated with NPWT-V at 3 months and were significantly lower at 12 months. The primary drivers of cost savings for the NPWT-V group were significantly lower inpatient, emergency room, and home costs despite higher NPWT costs. Due to the importance of understanding how to manage outcomes and costs for patients with chronic wounds, further comparative studies on total cost to treat these patients with NPWT are warranted.