Table 4.
Costs and time-saving analysis ranked according to net additional cost per patient
| Total Average Group Costa (US$ pp) |
Difference between costs of POC tests and control (US$ pp) |
Time Saved – Difference between control group time and POC group time (min) |
Staffing costs saved (US$ pp) | ICER - Incremental Cost Effectiveness Ratio (US$ / min) |
Net additional cost per patient in POC group (US$ pp) |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CONTROL | 81.86 | – | – | – | – | – |
| i-STAT + CBC | 82.86 | 1.00 | 31 | 23.21 | 0.03 | −22.21 |
| ECG ONLY | 75.96 | −5.90 | 9 | 6.74 | −0.65 | −12.63 |
| i-STAT + CBC + ECG | 90.73 | 8.87 | 26 | 19.47 | 0.34 | −10.60 |
| i-STAT | 92.59 | 10.73 | 21 | 15.72 | 0.51 | −4.99 |
| i-STAT + ECG | 95.36 | 13.50 | 21 | 15.72 | 0.64 | −2.22 |
| ECG + LODOX | 127.48 | 45.62 | 25 | 18.72 | 1.82 | 26.90 |
| i-STAT + ECG + LODOX | 143.11 | 61.25 | 32 | 23.96 | 1.91 | 37.29 |
| ALL POC TESTS | 144.10 | 62.24 | 31 | 23.21 | 2.01 | 39.03 |
| i-STAT + LODOX | 142.56 | 60.70 | 25 | 18.72 | 2.43 | 41.98 |
| i-STAT + CBC + LODOX | 146.74 | 64.88 | 27 | 20.22 | 2.40 | 44.67 |
| LODOX ONLY | 142.09 | 60.23 | 9 | 6.74 | 6.69 | 53.49 |
$ Costs shown in US dollars for each permutation
A negative number indicates a lower cost with the POC test permutation than traditional diagnostic testing
CBC Complete Blood Count, ECG electrocardiogram, ICER incremental cost effectiveness ratio, i-STAT i-STAT POC tests, LODOX® Low-dose x-ray, pp per patient
aThese are the average total actual costs that were incurred for the patients in each permutation. In the Control group, the only tests that were included were those selected by the doctors as they saw fit. In other groups, the average costs appear to be higher than would be expected as extra diagnostic tests may have been performed in those groups over and above those which were assigned (e.g. additional blood tests such as serum amylase or lipase). This principle extends across each of the groups