TY - JOUR T1 - Early follow-up after open heart valve surgery reduces healthcare costs: a propensity matched study JF - Open Heart JO - Open Heart DO - 10.1136/openhrt-2019-001122 VL - 6 IS - 2 SP - e001122 AU - Britt Borregaard AU - Jacob Eifer Møller AU - Jordi Sanchez Dahl AU - Lars Peter Schødt Riber AU - Selina Kikkenborg Berg AU - Ola Ekholm AU - Marc Gjern Weiss AU - Emilie Karense Lykking AU - Kirstine Lærum Sibilitz AU - Jan Sørensen Y1 - 2019/11/01 UR - http://openheart.bmj.com/content/6/2/e001122.abstract N2 - Objectives The objective was to assess differences in healthcare costs within 180 days after discharge from open heart valve surgery in an intervention group receiving early, individualised and intensified follow-up compared with a historical control group.Methods A cost-minimisation analysis comparing costs from a consecutive prospective cohort compared with a propensity matched cohort. Costs related to the intervention, hospital (outpatient visits and readmissions) and general practitioners (all contacts) were included. Data were obtained from electronic patient records and registry data. A logistic propensity model was used to identify the historical control group. Main results are presented as mean differences and 95% CIs based on bootstrapping.Results After matching, the analysis included 300 patients from the intervention group and 580 controls. The mean intervention cost was €171 (SD 79) per patient. After 180 days, the mean healthcare costs were €1284 (SD 2567) for the intervention group and €2077 (SD 4773) for the controls. The cost of the intervention group was €793 (p<0.001) less per patient. The cost differences were explained mainly by fewer readmissions, fewer overall emergency visits and fewer contacts to the general practitioner during out-of-hours in the intervention group.Conclusions The intervention consisting of early, individualised and intensified follow-up after open heart valve surgery significantly reduced the healthcare costs within 180 days after discharge. ER -