Table 2. Comparative Outcomes (difference in differences [DiD]) for healthcare costs.
| Outcome measure | t1 | t2 | t2 vs t1 | DiD | ||||
| Healthcare costs (mean values per patient) |
IG € (SD) |
CG € (SD) |
IG € (SD) |
CG € (SD) |
IG € |
CG € |
Absolute intervention effect*1 (p-value [95% CI]) |
Relative change*2 % |
| Primary outcome | ||||||||
| Mean total direct costs per patient*3 | 4785 (8048) |
4886 (8485) |
5439 (9648) |
5457 (10 029) |
654 | 571 | 83 (0.215 [−48; 215]) |
1.7 |
| Secondary outcomes | ||||||||
| Cost of GP consultations | 438 (246) |
420 (258) |
480 (278) |
435 (278) |
42 | 15 | 27 (<0.001 [25; 30]) |
6.2 |
| Cost of specialist consultations | 551 (1515) |
590 (1928) |
529 (1500) |
546 (1500) |
−22 | −44 | 22 (0.385 [1.3; 43]) |
4.1 |
| Cost of drug prescriptions | 1108 (2974) |
1117 (2321) |
1201 (3406) |
1254 (3406) |
94 | 137 | −44 (0.001 [−74; −13]) |
−3.9 |
| Cost of hospital care | 2150 (5838) |
2219 (6294) |
2447 (6897) |
2418 (6897) |
297 | 199 | 98 (0.096 [−17; 214]) |
4.6 |
| Cost of post-acute care | 81 (575) |
79 (609) |
83 (605) |
83 (609) |
−3 | −0.19 | −2.45 (0.673 [−13.84; 8.93]) |
−3.0 |
| Cost of inpatient rehabilitation | 6 (117) |
7 (162) |
6 (137) |
8 (162) |
1 | 2 | −1 (0.608 [−3; 2]) |
−11.7 |
| Cost of outpatient rehabilitation | 2 (13) |
3 (17) |
2 (14) |
3 (17) |
1 | 1 | 0.25 (0.055 [−0.01; 0.5]) |
13.5 |
| Cost of remedies prescriptions | 92 (330) |
114 (391) |
94 (337) |
114 (391) |
22 | 19 | 3 (0.079 [−0.83; 6.59]) |
3.1 |
| Cost of therapeutic aids prescriptions | 236 (811) |
277 (847) |
233 (811) |
273 (847) |
41 | 40 | 1 (0.862 [−10; 12]) |
0.4 |
| Cost of homecare prescriptions | 121 (821) |
209 (1687) |
122 (1131) |
221 (1687) |
89 | 99 | −11 (0.369 [−36; 14]) |
−8.4 |
p<0.05. statistically significant difference (t-test); *1 intervention effect: mean difference; *2 relative change: share of intervention effect in IG t1 in %
*3 total direct cost = costs of outpatient physician care (GP care + specialist care). drug prescriptions. inpatient hospital care. post-acute care. rehabilitation. remedies. therapeutic aids;
IG. intervention group; CG. control group; CI. confidence interval; SD. standard deviation