Porto Biomedical Journal · 10 authors, 5 centres
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This before-and-after cohort study of 586 medically stable people living with HIV in Lisbon found that the EmERGE mHealth platform reduced annual outpatient visits by 35% and overall HIV outpatient service costs by 5%, while clinical outcomes (CD4 count, viral load, patient activation, quality of life) remained stable.
Departmental unit costs were linked to mean outpatient services per patient-year. Annual outpatient visits decreased by 35% from 3.1 to 2.0 MPPY, and annual outpatient costs per patient decreased from €301 to €193. Radiology investigations decreased by 40%. Overall annual costs for HIV outpatient services decreased by 5% from €2093 to €1984 per patient-year. Antiretroviral therapy accounted for 83% of annual costs at €9,976. Primary outcomes (CD4 count and viral load) and secondary outcomes (PAM-13 and PROQOL-HIV) did not differ substantially between periods. Limitations include reliance on staff-provided cost weights for apportioning indirect and overhead costs across shared CHLC hospital services, inability to verify underlying financial data, and that staff interaction changes were not quantified.
