What Is the Cost-Effectiveness of Strategies for COPD Prevention and Treatment?
Despite substantial expenditures on medical care for those with COPD, few studies have examined the cost-effectiveness of difÂferent treatment modalities. It is likely that reductions in the frequency and severity of acute exacerbations of COPD would be especially cost-effective, because hospitalizations, primarily for exacerbations, account for approximately two thirds of the direct costs of COPD care (Figure 1) (79-81). Because those with advanced disease are more likely to be hospitalized, therapeutic advances that produce even modest improvements in the health of those with severe COPD may have a substantial economic impact. Greater emphasis should be placed on studies of the cost-effectiveness of COPD management approaches. Figure 1. Allocation of expenditures for direct costs of COPD care. Total expenditure for home oxygen therapy is from Reference 79 and may include some costs not due to COPD. Estimates of expenditures for hospitalizations (inpatient plus emergency department),
