Table 1.
Unit costs and sources.
| Unit | Cost/unit (£) | Source | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trail asthma reviews | |||
| Asthma specialist practice nurse | Personal Social Services Research Unit6 | ||
| Clinic time | 1 minute | 0.48 | |
| Non-attendance | 21.87 minutesa | 10.50 | |
| Abortive calls | 2 minutesb | 0.96 | |
| Telephone costs (peak rates) | British Telecom7 | ||
| British Telecom local rate | 1 minute | 0.04 | |
| British Telecom national rate | 1 minute | 0.08 | |
| Average mobile rate | 1 minute | 0.18 | |
| Healthcare professionals | |||
| GP | Personal Social Services Research Unit6 | ||
| Surgery consultation | 9.4 minutes15 | 19.00 | |
| Telephone consultation | 4.7 minutesc | 9.69 | |
| GP visit (including travel time) | 25.2 minutes | 59.00 | |
| Practice nurse | Personal Social Services Research Unit6 | ||
| Clinic consultation | per consultationd | 10.00 | |
| Telephone consultation | per consultatione | 5.40 | |
| Hospital costs | |||
| Respiratory out-patients | per out-patient clinic | 88.00 | Personal Social Services Research Unit6 |
| Prescribing costs | |||
| Bronchodilators | per inhaler, device, or tablet | British National Formulary9 | |
| Inhaled steroids | |||
| Add-on therapyf | |||
| Combination inhalersg | |||
| Antibiotics (for chest infections) | |||
| Devices (peak flow meters, spacers) | |||
| Prednisolone (for acute asthma) | |||
Prices are in £ sterling for the year 2000–2001.
a
Mean duration of surgery reviews.5
b
Estimated time for an abortive call.
c
Assuming the telephone consultation at half the duration of a surgery consultation + telephone cost at £0.04/minute.
d
Assuming 20-minute clinic appointments.
e
Assuming the telephone consultation at half the duration of a surgery consultation + telephone cost at £0.04/minute.
f
Long-acting bronchodilators, leukotriene receptor antagonists, theophyllines, anticholinergics, cromones.
g
Combination inhalers: inhaled steroids + long-acting β2 agonists.