Equation | (# individuals treated) x (% treated patients treated solely because of program) x (# QALY increase) x ($ QALY) |
Explanation | This metric estimates the impact of programs providing tooth decay treatment on future health, estimated in terms of quality-adjusted life years (QALY). We compute benefits for patients identified with chronic pain and for regular cases without a chronic pain diagnosis. Number of patients: Reported by program. Percentage of treated patients treated solely because of program: [64%]. About 36% of adult Medicaid enrollees in the 7-county metro area received a dental service within the last year (MN Department of Health, 2018). If program targets Latinx individuals, we approximate the rate of use of dental service using the Crozier (2011) estimate of the percent of Latinx individuals who lack dental insurance [45%]. QALY increase for chronic pain patients: [0.39]. This estimate of the value of stopping dental pain is a rough average of QALY values found in the literature for chronic pain and its control (Thomsen, Gundgaard, Sorenson, Sjogren & Eriksen, 2000; Schmeir, Palmer, Flood & Gourlay, 2002). QALY increase regular patients: [0.2]. This estimate of the value of stopping dental pain is a rough average of QALY values found in the literature for chronic pain and its control (Thomsen, Gundgaard, Sorenson, Sjogren & Eriksen, 2000; Schmeir, Palmer, Flood & Gourlay, 2002). We discount the average from these studies by 50% since not all tooth decay results in chronic pain. $ value per QALY: [$50,000] Benefits are then discounted to present value based on the average age of participation to life expectancy. |
References | Minnesota Department of Health. (2018). Medicaid Dental Service Use. Minnesota Public Health Access Data. Retrieved on June 2020 from: https://data.web.health.state.mn.us/medicaid-dental-service-use-query# Schmeir, J., Palmer, C., Flood, E. & Gourlay, G. (2002). Utility assessment of opioid treatment for pain. Pain Medicine, 3(3), 218-230. Thomsen, A., Gundgaard, J., Sorenson, J., Sjogren, P. & Eriksen, J. (2000). Cost-effectiveness of multidisciplinary treatment of patients with chronic non-malignant pain. Copenhagen, Denmark: Multidisciplinary Pain Centre, Danish National Hospital. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/228477510_Cost-effectiveness_of_multidisciplinary_treatment_of_patients_with_chronic_non-malignant_pain Crozier, S. (2011, November). Insights gained in Hispanic survey. ADA News. American Dental Association. Retrieved January 25, 2011. |