Browsing by Author "Ferreira, Marta Alexandra Martins"
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- Digital Health Cost-effectiveness in managing asthma and/or COPD: A systematic reviewPublication . Ferreira, Marta Alexandra Martins; Pinto, Bernardo Manuel de Sousa; Barata, Luis Manuel TabordaIntroduction: Asthma and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) impose a substantial economic burden. Digital interventions have the potential to reduce that burden by decreasing healthcare utilization, but their cost-effectiveness remains unclear. This systematic review of randomised controlled trials (RCT) aims to assess whether digital health interventions can be cost-effective in patients with asthma or COPD. Methods: The protocol for this systematic review is published on PROSPERO (CRD42023439195). We searched three databases - PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science – for RCTs with health economic evaluations assessing participants diagnosed with asthma and/or COPD and comparing a digital health intervention to standard of care. The quality of included studies was assessed using the RoB 2 tool. Results: We included 35 RCTs, of which 21 were related to COPD, 13 to asthma and one to both diseases. Overall, studies assessed four categories of digital health interventions: (i) Electronic patient diaries (n = 4), (ii) Real time monitoring (n = 19), (iii) Teleconsultations (n = 6) and (iv) Others (n = 6). Eleven studies performed a full economic evaluation analysis, while 24 studies performed a partial economic analysis. Most studies involving real-time monitoring or teleconsultations presented economic results in favor of digital health interventions (indicating them to be cost-effective or less expensive than the standard-of-care). Mixed results were obtained for electronic patient diaries. Conclusion: Although costs of digital health interventions varied based on the type of intervention, follow-up period and country, most studies report digital health interventions to be affordable or associated with decreased costs.