Volume 15, Number 2, March-April 2008

A budget impact model for a drug in heart failure: eplerenone
Martin Duerden, Maggie Tabberer

The total direct medical costs of heart failure in the UK each year are estimated to be approximately £716 million, with hospital in-patient care the biggest single healthcare cost, accounting for approximately 70% of the total cost of heart failure.1 Budget impact analyses are increasingly being used to complement economic evaluations as they enable healthcare purchasers to examine the relationship between maximised efficiency and affordability.2 This paper describes a budget impact model that estimates the incremental costs and benefits of adding eplerenone to standard care for heart failure resulting from myocardial infarction (MI) over a three-year period, from the perspective of National Health Service (NHS) healthcare decision makers. The model allows the impact of the drug to be measured appropriately with opportunities to quantify both costs and benefits on the total cost of healthcare for heart failure within the UK.

Br J Cardiol 2008;15:101-105.

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