Cost-Effectiveness of Glucose Monitoring in T1D
Cost-Effectiveness of Glucose Monitoring in T1D
OBJECTIVE
Maintaining healthy glucose levels is critical for the management of type 1 diabetes
(T1D), but the most efficacious and cost-effective approach (capillary self-monitor-
ing of blood glucose [SMBG] or continuous [CGM] or intermittently scanned
[isCGM] glucose monitoring) is not clear. We modeled the population-level impact
of these three glucose monitoring systems on diabetes-related complications, mor-
tality, and cost-effectiveness in adults with T1D in Canada.
Though the etiology is not known with are heterogeneous (7,8), on balance, each type of glucose monitoring (SMBG,
certainty, type 1 diabetes (T1D) appears these technologies have shown im- CGM, isCGM) to obtain the population-
to be an autoimmune disease that de- proved glycemic control (9,10), reduced level cost and QALY impact of universal
stroys insulin-producing b-cells in the hypoglycemia (11,12) and DKA (11,12) use of these technologies. Our model
pancreas resulting in lifelong depen- events, fewer hospital admissions (11), is based on a Markov cost-effective-
dence on injected insulin therapy. Self- and improved quality of life (9,11) in a ness model with nine primary states:
management of blood glucose levels is variety of real-world settings and study no complications, retinopathy, neurop-
the cornerstone of T1D care. High levels populations. In most Canadian provin- athy, nephropathy, cardiovascular dis-
of blood glucose can lead to acute ces, people with diabetes over the age ease (CVD), end-stage renal disease,
events including diabetic ketoacidosis of 65 years (and <25 years old in some lower-extremity amputation, blindness,
(DKA) and long-term micro- or macro- provinces) receive some support from and death (Supplementary Fig. A1).
vascular complications (1), while low their provincial health plan for these Moreover, at any point in the model, a
blood glucose (hypoglycemia) puts pa- technologies, but the majority of adults severe hypoglycemia (SH) or DKA event
tients at risk for immediate injury or could occur. We compared the cost-ef-
(70–180 mg/dL) in a 24-h period (6). It Epidemiologic Complications, using a combination of manufacturer re-
has been further suggested that a 10% Rates, Quality of Life, and Cost sources and publicly available informa-
increase in TIR corresponds to approxi- Parameters tion on 12 August 2021. As the focus is
mately a 0.5%–0.8% reduction in HbA1c, Epidemiologic parameters were identi- on the cost-effectiveness of glucose
depending on the baseline HbA1c levels fied based on commonly reported T1D monitoring and complications, costs of
and population characteristics (6). Given complications in literature and those insulin delivery and treatment (e.g.,
the importance of TIR in CGM and used in the OH report (13). All partici- pumps or daily injections) were not in-
isCGM systems, we selected TIR as our pants began in the no complications cluded. Note that our goal is not to com-
primary measure of efficacy. state. After the first year, participants pare individual monitoring technologies.
To estimate the efficacy of CGM and can transition to a complications state,
Thus, to ensure an impartial evaluation
isCGM, we focused on randomized con- remain in the no complications state, or
of all competing monitoring systems, we
die. Once in a complications state, partic-
trolled trials (RCTs). A recent meta-analy- apply an average cost of relevant tech-
ipants can transition to a more severe
sis of RCTs (8) was published comparing nologies across models, and differences
complications state (e.g., from retinopa-
A B
C D
assume cost discounts equal to the ap- CGM and isCGM by 10% and 25% to living without any complications of
proximate long-term borrowing costs represent potential bulk purchase agree- T1D (Fig. 1A) and prevents approximately
for the Canadian government (28) and ments. Additional details regarding 4,600 deaths (Fig. 1D). Figure 1B and
equal discount rates for QALYs. sensitivity analyses are included in C must be interpreted cautiously, as
Appendix B. we predict a larger number of individ-
Sensitivity Analyses uals living with minor complications
To ensure the robustness of our model, RESULTS with CGM and isCGM as individuals
we performed a variety of one-way sen- Modeled Number of Complications remain alive and live with fewer severe
sitivity analyses. They include variation and Deaths complications throughout the study pe-
in individual model parameters accord- Figure 1 presents the general trends of riod. Additional figures (Supplementary
ing to their plausible range (Supple- no complications, minor complications Figs. C1–C3) presenting the number of
mentary Table A7), cost and QALY dis- (neuropathy, nephropathy, retinopathy), people in each individual complication
counts of 0%–5%, incorporating a more major complications (CVD, end-stage re- state can be found in Appendix C.
liberal estimate of the efficacy of CGM nal disease, lower-extremity amputation,
and isCGM with use of the point esti- blindness), and death. After 20 years, if Cost-effectiveness of CGM and
mates and upper bounds of the 95% CIs the entire Canadian population uses CGM, isCGM
for TIR instead of our conservative esti- 7,400 more people are living with- Table 1 contains the cost, number of
mate with use of the lower bound, out complications compared with use QALYs, and ICERs for each of the three
comparing CGM and isCGM with a re- of SMBG (Fig. 1A). Similarly, the num- interventions. These results provide evi-
vised recommended SMBG regimen of ber of deaths is reduced by 11,500 dence that both CGM and isCGM are
8 or 10 tests per day (vs. 6 tests per (Fig. 1D). In comparison with SMBG, cost-effective interventions at the tradi-
day), and reducing the annual cost of isCGM keeps 3,400 more Canadians tional willingness-to-pay threshold of
CAD 50,000/QALY. We note that while
the costs of funding CGM and isCGM
Table 1—Cost and QALY projection and ICERs for an initial cohort of 180,000
are higher, they generate significant
adult Canadians using SMBG, CGM, and isCGM over a 20-year horizon cost savings due to lower costs of com-
Total cost Complications Interventions
plications of T1D. Finally, note that the
Strategy (CAD) cost (CAD) cost (CAD) QALY ICERa government cost for these technologies
SMBG 12,166,922,680 7,142,676,195 5,024,246,485 2,062,023 — in Canada would be much lower as
some individuals already benefit from
CGM 16,080,940,460 5,862,493,277 10,218,447,183 2,173,798 35,017
employer-sponsored health plans and
isCGM 12,981,653,727 6,548,934,955 6,432,718,772 2,108,612 17,488 national funding for these technologies
a
CAD/QALY (relative to SMBG). would likely reduce costs due to bulk
purchase agreements.
2016 Cost-effectiveness of CGM and isCGM in Canada Diabetes Care Volume 45, September 2022
Sensitivity Analyses SMBG over a 20-year horizon while pro- in plausible parameters, common cost
The impact of departures from various ducing a higher total number of QALY. and QALY discounts, and measures of
model assumptions is presented in Figs. Similarly, if Canadians are assumed to efficacy. These results support use of
2 and 3. Variation in the rate of DKA be using a larger number of SMBG tests public health resources to increase uni-
events has the largest impact on our per day (i.e., 8 or 10), isCGM is cost-ef- versal access to CGM and isCGM for the
observed ICERs, but this is due to the fective at any willingness-to-pay thresh- adult T1D population in Canada and
comparatively large degree of uncer- old, as the increased costs of the emphasize the need for greater equity
tainty in this parameter. Moreover, even additional daily SMBG tests exceed the in technology adoption.
considering the extreme case, the low- annual cost of isCGM and yield a lower In the Canadian context, an earlier
est rates of DKA events produce an total QALY. Based on these results, our cost-effectiveness analysis in Ontario,
ICER of approximately CAD 53,021/ model is reasonably robust against de- that included data up to January 2017,
QALY for CGM, which nears our thresh-
partures from our initial assumptions. did not find sufficient evidence for the
old of CAD 50,000/QALY (Fig. 2). Simi-
public funding of CGM for people with
larly, a QALY discount of 5% also
Figure 2—Sensitivity analyses examining the impact of various assumptions on ICERs for CGM. Baseline model of cost-effectiveness ICER of CAD
35,017/QALY and willingness-to-pay threshold of CAD 50,000/QALY are indicated. ESRD, end-stage renal disease; LEA, lower extremity
amputation.
[Link]/care Rotondi and Associates 2017
results show that the Dexcom G6 is a relative to SMBG at any willingness-to- in July 2021 the U.S. relaxed its qualifi-
cost-effective glucose monitoring sys- pay threshold. In addition, we note cation rules for CGM to encompass
tem with an ICER of CAD 16,931/QALY. that the costs for these devices for the nearly all adults with T1D receiving
However, this study did not include health payer in Canada would be mark- Medicare benefits. Our results may also
consideration of isCGM and was finan- edly lower, as many individuals already be of interest to private health insurers
cially supported by Dexcom, raising have isCGM or CGM devices funded by in the U.S. and other jurisdictions, as
concerns of potential conflicts of inter- their employer-sponsored private ben- we have shown that isCGM is in fact a
est. Similarly, while moderate cost-ef- efits plans. lower-cost glucose monitoring regimen
fectiveness has been shown for isCGM Internationally, a 2018 study on the compared with SMBG when individuals
in Ontario (31) and Quebec (32), our cost-effectiveness of CGM in Spain did are averaging 8 or 10 tests per day,
updated results support their coverage not show sufficient cost-effectiveness while improving health outcomes. How-
across Canada. Canadian health care given the higher technology costs at the ever, it should also be stressed that only
spending decisions are independently time (14). However, our findings are CGM technology, and not isCGM, can
determined by the 10 provincial and 3 consistent with the most recent studies be used to inform sensor-augmented
territorial governments; however, our of CGM and isCGM use in the U.K (23), and hybrid closed loop insulin pump
results support cooperative and coordi- France (33), and the U.S (34), while systems for more customized insulin de-
nated national approaches to health isCGM alone has been shown to be a livery to help minimize both hyper- and
care spending, which could generate cost-effective intervention in a study hypoglycemia in T1D (38).
further cost savings due to bulk gov- based in Sweden (35). These more re- Unique strengths of our analysis are
ernment purchases. This is best illus- cent findings have led to the inclusion the consideration of current device costs,
trated in our sensitivity analysis, where of these technologies in public health the incorporation of DKA events in the
we showed that a 25% reduction in plans across the world, including Spain Markov model, use of TIR as a measure
the cost of isCGM is cost-effective (36), France (33), Italy (37), and notably, of efficacy, and our examination of both
2018 Cost-effectiveness of CGM and isCGM in Canada Diabetes Care Volume 45, September 2022
CGM and isCGM independently, without should focus on the evaluation of the model interpretation, framing the results
sponsorship from device manufacturers. cost-effectiveness of these technologies within the literature and public health con-
text, and revised the work for critical context
However, there are potential limitations. for children and youth, given their in- and clarity. All authors contributed to critical
First, cost estimates for the nine compli- creased risk for poor glycemic control revision of the first draft and all subsequent
cation states may be underestimated, as leading to acute SH or DKA events. In ad- drafts of the manuscript. M.A.R. is the guar-
health care costs have increased beyond dition, in our review here we highlight antor of this work and, as such, had full ac-
typical rates of inflation (39). This may cess to all the data in the study and takes
the comparatively small body of evi-
responsibility for the integrity of the data and
lead to an underestimation of compara- dence from RCTs for isCGM relative to the accuracy of the data analysis.
tive cost-effectiveness of CGM and the number of studies for CGM. More
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