Do coronary stent policies affect the cost-effectiveness of percutaneous coronary intervention among patients with acute coronary syndrome in Shanghai? A retrospective cohort study based on real-world and propensity score-matched data

Objectives This study aimed to assess whether the national centralised volume-based procurement policy and the Shanghai government’s supportive measures (coronary stent policies) implemented in Shanghai, China, on 20 January 2021 affected the cost-effectiveness of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) in the year after surgery. Design A retrospective cohort study based on real-world data and propensity score (PS)-matched data was conducted to compare the cost-effectiveness of PCI before and after policy implementation. Patients and setting Patients with ACS who had undergone first-time PCI over 1 year previously in hospitals in Shanghai and were discharged between 1 March 2019 and 30 April 2022 were included in the study. Outcome measures In the present study, cost was defined as total direct medical expenses, and effectiveness was defined as the prevention of major adverse cardiac events (MACEs). Incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs) were used to measure the cost-effectiveness of PCI in patients with ACS 1 year after surgery. Results The study included 31 760 patients. According to real-world and PS-matched data, the implementation of coronary stent policies in Shanghai reduced the total medical cost of patients with ACS 1 year after PCI by 24.39% (p<0.0001) and 22.26% (p<0.0001), respectively. The ICERs were ¥−1131.72 and ¥−842.00 thousand per MACE avoided, respectively. The ICERs were robust to parameter uncertainty, and there was a substantial chance for policy implementation to improve the cost-effectiveness of PCI among patients with ACS in the short term. Conclusions The implementation of coronary stent policies has improved the cost-effectiveness of PCI for patients with ACS in the short term. The long-term impact of coronary stent policies on the cost-effectiveness of PCI in patients with ACS or other coronary heart diseases should be assessed in the future.