Key result
Point-of-care HbA1c and lipid testing projects up to €1.38 billion in five-year healthcare savings.
Why the study?
Does point-of-care testing for HbA1c and lipid panels reduce healthcare costs compared to standard laboratory testing in Canada and Italy?
Does point-of-care testing for HbA1c and lipid panels reduce healthcare costs compared to standard laboratory testing in Canada and Italy?
Adoption of point-of-care testing for HbA1c and lipid panels can provide substantial cost savings and reduce primary care consultations in Canada and Italy.
Aim: Screening and monitoring of diabetes or dyslipidemia frequently involves a multi-step process requiring patients to obtain test requisitions from their primary care physician (PCP), followed by a laboratory visit and re-consultation. Point-of-care testing (POCT) for hemoglobin A 1c (HbA 1c ) and lipid panel can streamline the patient care pathway. This study assessed the budget impact of introducing Afinion™ 2 POCT (Abbott Rapid Diagnostics) from the Canadian and Italian societal perspectives. Methods: Budget impact models were developed for Canada and Italy over a 5-year time horizon (2025 to 2029). The analyses considered the screening and monitoring of diabetes or dyslipidemia for patients utilizing the public healthcare system and attending primary care, and included direct costs (testing, consultations) and indirect costs (productivity loss, transportation) based on published sources. The budget impact (BI) was calculated by comparing scenarios with and without POCT. All costs were adjusted to Canadian dollars ($) or 2024 Euros (€). Scenario analyses were conducted to explore the impact of alternative assumptions. Results: The 5-year cumulative BI was -$758,006,692 (-$50,709,964 direct, -$707,296,728 indirect) for HbA 1c POCT and -$726,452,755 ($2,684,011 direct, -$729,136,766 indirect) for lipid panel POCT in Canada and -€1,380,658,764 (-€6,391,954 direct, -€1,374,266,809 indirect) for HbA 1c POCT and -€851,792,115 (€55,962,879 direct, -€907,754,993 indirect) for lipid panel POCT in Italy. In both countries, cost savings for both the healthcare payer and patients were observed for HbA 1c POCT, while costs savings were derived from patient indirect costs for lipid panel POCT. The analyses estimated that 1,558,062 and 1,501,260 PCP consultations in Canada, 4,962,338 and 1,951,026 PCP consultations in Italy were avoided with implementation of POCT for HbA 1c and lipid panel, respectively. Scenario analyses demonstrated potential further cost savings with implementation of POCT in pharmacies. Conclusion: This study demonstrates that the adoption of Afinion 2 POCT for HbA 1c and lipid panel can provide efficiencies to different types of healthcare systems through reducing PCP consultations, saving time and money for patients and providing cost savings for payers.
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Garcia et al. (2025) studied Diabetes or dyslipidemia. Afinion™ 2 point-of-care testing (POCT) for HbA1c and lipid panel vs. Without POCT was evaluated on 5-year cumulative budget impact. Introducing Afinion 2 point-of-care testing for HbA1c and lipid panels over 5 years yielded cumulative budget savings of up to $758 million in Canada and €1.38 billion in Italy.
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