Health Economic Aspects of Platelet Concentrates: Comparing Cost and Reimbursement of Pathogen Inactivated and Conventional Platelet Concentrates in a German Comprehensive Cancer Center

Oncol Res Treat. 2023;46(9):362-369. doi: 10.1159/000531742. Epub 2023 Jul 21.

Abstract

Introduction: Pathogen inactivation (PI) utilizing amotosalen and UVA light (INTERCEPT® Blood System) is a well-established method for the production of safer platelet concentrates (PCs). While many studies describe clinical and logistical benefits of PI, the implications and potential challenges from a hospital management perspective have not yet been analyzed - health economic analyses considering reimbursement of PI are lacking. The objective of this analysis was to examine the real-life inpatient treatment costs from a hospital perspective and to assess the economic impact of PI-PC versus conventional PC (CONV-PC) administration in Germany.

Methods: Real-life cost data for inpatient cancer cases from 2020 of the University Hospital Cologne were identified by operating and procedure codes. The German diagnosis-related groups, extra fees, case mix index (CMI), length of stay (LOS), and average resource consumption of PC were evaluated from a micro-management perspective. The potential economic impact of implementing PI-treated PCs was modeled retrospectively.

Results: In total, 951 inpatient cases were analyzed (CMI [median 4.7-9.9], LOS [median 26 days], number of cases in intensive care units [38%]). The median DRG fee was between EUR 13,800 and EUR 26,400. According to our model, the use of PI-PC compared to CONV-PC would result in savings between EUR 184 and EUR 306 per case.

Conclusion: From a hospital management perspective, oncological cases requiring PC transfusion are associated with a high CMI (reimbursement per DRG flat fee) and moderate costs with sufficient add-on payment for PI on a case level. Investment and process costs for PI implementation can be analyzed for site-specific scenarios.

Keywords: Blood transfusion; Hospitals; INTERCEPT Blood System; Pathogen inactivation; Reimbursement.

MeSH terms

  • Diagnosis-Related Groups*
  • Hospitalization
  • Hospitals, University
  • Humans
  • Intensive Care Units
  • Neoplasms*
  • Retrospective Studies

Grants and funding

VITIS Healthcare Group has a funding agreement with Cerus B.V. The funder of the study had no role in study design, data collection, data analysis, or data interpretation. J. Irsch assisted in writing the article. All authors had full access to all the data in the study and had final responsibility for the decision to submit for publication.