Estimated Life-Time Savings in the Cost of Ongoing Care Following Specialist Rehabilitation for Severe Traumatic Brain Injury in the United Kingdom

• Published in: The journal of head trauma rehabilitation Vol. 34; no. 4; p. 205
• Main Authors: Turner-Stokes, Lynne, Dzingina, Mendwas, Shavelle, Robert, Bill, Alan, Williams, Heather, Sephton, Keith
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 01.07.2019
• Subjects: Adult; Brain Injuries, Traumatic - economics; Brain Injuries, Traumatic - rehabilitation; Cohort Studies; Cost Savings - economics; Disability Evaluation; England; Female; Humans; Long-Term Care - economics; Male; Middle Aged; Prospective Studies; Rehabilitation Centers - economics; State Medicine - economics; Treatment Outcome; England
• ISSN: 1550-509X
• DOI: 10.1097/HTR.0000000000000473

To evaluate cost-efficiency of rehabilitation following severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) and estimate the life-time savings in costs of care. TBI patients (n = 3578/6043) admitted to all 75 specialist rehabilitation services in England 2010-2018. A multicenter cohort analysis of prospectively collated clinical data from the UK Rehabilitation Outcomes Collaborative national clinical database. Primary outcomes: (a) reduction in dependency (UK Functional Assessment Measure), (b) cost-efficiency, measured in time taken to offset rehabilitation costs by savings in costs of ongoing care estimated by the Northwick Park Dependency Scale/Care Needs Assessment (NPDS/NPCNA), and (c) estimated life-time savings. The mean age was 49 years (74% males). Including patients who remained in persistent vegetative state on discharge, the mean episode cost of rehabilitation was £42 894 (95% CI: £41 512, £44 235), which was offset within 18.2 months by NPCNA-estimated savings in ongoing care costs. The mean period life expectancy adjusted for TBI severity was 21.6 years, giving mean net life-time savings in care costs of £679 776/patient (95% CI: £635 972, £722 786). Specialist rehabilitation proved highly cost-efficient for severely disabled patients with TBI, despite their reduced life-span, potentially generating over £4 billion savings in the cost of ongoing care for this 8-year national cohort.