Longitudinal analyses of healthcare resource utilization and costs among patients with obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy

AIMS: Obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (oHCM) is associated with substantial disease burden, healthcare resource utilization (HCRU), and healthcare costs. This study assessed HCRU and healthcare costs among patients with oHCM treated in real-world settings over 5 years of follow-up. METHODS: This retrospective cohort study used the Optum database (January 2013-December 2021) and included patients aged ≥18 years with ≥2 claims for oHCM and continuous health plan enrollment for ≥6 months pre-initial and post-initial oHCM claim (index date). Patients with ≥5 years of follow-up data were analyzed. All-cause and HCM-related HCRU (ambulatory visits [physician office visits and outpatient visits], emergency room [ER] visits, hospital admissions, length of stay [LOS], and pharmacy use) and healthcare costs were assessed in US dollars. RESULTS: In total, 5,129 patients with oHCM were identified: 5,056 (98.6%) had an all-cause ambulatory visit and 4,669 (91.0%) had an HCM-related visit. 4,079 (79.5%) had an all-cause ER visit, and 1,499 (29.2%) an HCM-related ER visit. 2,949 (57.5%) reported an all-cause admission, and 2,232 (43.5%) an HCM-related admission. The mean (SD) per-person count of all-cause ambulatory visits was 101.0 (90.7) and 15.3 (18.7) for HCM-related ambulatory visits. Mean (SD) all-cause admissions per patient were 1.8 (3.8), and 0.9 (1.6) were HCM related. Mean (SD) all-cause LOS was 18.0 (54.7) days, and HCM-related LOS was 10.0 (39.6) days. Mean (SD) all-cause healthcare cost per patient was $181,968 (241,608), of which $67,531 (114,705) was HCM related. Hospital admissions were the largest proportion of medical costs: all-cause admissions cost $71,001 (149,533) during follow-up, of which $44,781 (99,431) was HCM-related. LIMITATIONS: Analyses were unadjusted for covariates or confounding factors. CONCLUSION: Patients with oHCM experience substantial HCRU and costs over 5 years of follow-up. These results indicate a need for new treatment options which could decrease HCRU and improve patient outcomes.