Cost-effectiveness of using AI to increase patient engagement

These challenges also apply to the Danish healthcare system. It is therefore necessary to develop economically appropriate treatment technologies, but we lack knowledge about whether the application of AI (artificial intelligence) in clinical practice is cost-effective.

ERVIN is a PRO-based AI solution, which is used for patients with osteoarthritis, who need a preliminary examination in order to clarify whether surgery should be performed or not. The system can predict real-time and 1-year follow-up scores for the patient’s functional level and quality of life for both operative and non-operative choices, as well as the risk of complications during surgery. ERVIN’s purpose is to assess whether a patient benefits from a hip or knee operation, as it has previously been seen that between 5-15% of patients do not get the optimal effect from an operation.

There are several challenges in estimating cost-effectiveness. Appropriate and meaningful cost estimates and conflicting conclusions about cost-effectiveness and evidence of health benefits from using AI in knee and hip alloplasty, for example, are limited. At the same time, there is a constantly increasing trend of using decision support systems within the health care system, which is why there is also an urgent need for the development of methods for assessing these. In order to gain specific knowledge about the effect of using ERVIN, as well as to collect data for the health economic evaluation, a randomised clinical trial has been initiated at an orthopedic surgical outpatient clinic at Aalborg University Hospital (Farsø).

AIM

The project’s aim is to evidence base the use of ERVIN, as well as to calculate its cost-effectiveness. The following studies are planned: a systematic review to show what complete health economic AI evaluations are available. These findings should help adjust the current method of conducting health economic evaluations. An effect study based on the randomised trial and a health economic evaluation of ERVIN (cost-utility analysis) is also planned. The final results are expected to be available by the end of 2022.

PARTNERS

The project is a PhD project by Nanna Kastrup.

The project’s main supervisor is Associate Professor Cathrine Elgaard Jensen from the Danish Centre for Healthcare Improvements, Aalborg University.

EXTERNAL FUNDING

The project is financially supported by the Danish Ministry of Health, Helsefonden and Aalborg University.