Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37463787›Full record

ArticleBMJ global health2023

Estimating the economic burden of long-Covid: the additive cost of healthcare utilisation among COVID-19 recoverees in Israel.

Yael Wolff Sagy, Ilan Feldhamer, Shuli Brammli-Greenberg, Gil Lavie

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMJ global health, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 22 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
22citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
13.6field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

22 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 66 citations in OpenAlex.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.

Yael Wolff SagyBranch of Planning and Strategy, Clalit Health Services, Tel Aviv, Israel yael.wo@gmail.com.ORCID 0000-0002-2007-343X
Ilan FeldhamerBranch of Planning and Strategy, Clalit Health Services, Tel Aviv, Israel.
Shuli Brammli-GreenbergBraun School of Public Health and Community Medicine, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel.
Gil LavieBranch of Planning and Strategy, Clalit Health Services, Tel Aviv, Israel.
Clalit Health Services · ILHebrew University of Jerusalem · ILTechnion – Israel Institute of Technology · IL

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionPostacute sequelae resulting from SARS-CoV-2 infections (LONG-COVID) have been reported. The resulting added economic burden from the perspective of healthcare organisations is not clear. Therefore, this study aims to evaluate the additive healthcare costs among COVID-19 recoverees, in a large community-dwelling general population, as incurred by an insurer-provider organisation over time.

methodsIn this historical cohort study, cost data from Clalit Health Services (CHS) were analysed. The primary endpoint was the direct cost incurred by CHS per month per person. Costs were measured for COVID-19 recoverees and matched controls, from January 2019 to January 2022. Difference in differences (DiDs) were calculated as the difference in mean monthly costs in cases and controls in the post-COVID-19 individual period, deducing their cost difference in a prepandemic 12 months baseline period.

resultsAmong N=642 868 community-dwelling COVID-19 recoverees, 268 948 (40.8%) were 0-19 years old and 63 051 (9.6%) were 60 years or older. A total of 16 017 (2.5%) of recoverees had been hospitalised during the acute phase of the COVID-19 disease. Costs in cases and controls converged after 16 months from recovery. The mean monthly cost incurred by CHS per COVID-19 recoverees over up to 15 months (mean: 8.25) of post-COVID-19 follow-up was higher by 8.2% (US$8.2) compared with matched controls. The excess cost attributable to post-COVID-19 effects (DID) was 7.6% of the cost in controls (US$7.7 per patient per month). Both net and relative DIDs were substantially higher in patients who required hospitalisation during the acute phase of COVID-19 and in older adults. Excess in hospitalisations, primary care physicians and medical specialists' visits-related costs were observed.

conclusionsLong-term effects of SARS-CoV-2 infections translate into excess healthcare costs, months after recovery, hence requiring adjustments of funds allocation. These excess costs gradually diminish after recoveree, returning to baseline differences 16 months after recoveree.

Indexed as

COVID-19Post-Acute COVID-19 SyndromeAdolescentAdultAgedChildChild, PreschoolCohort StudiesDelivery of Health CareFinancial StressHealth Care CostsHumansInfantInfant, NewbornIsraelPatient Acceptance of Health CareCOVID-19health economicshealth services research

Identifiers

PMID37463787
PMCPMC10357303
OpenAlexW4384655745

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.