Table 2. Base-Case Analysis of Mean Cardiac Health Care and Societal Costs per Patient for Cardiac Telerehabilitation and Center-Based Cardiac Rehabilitation in the First Year.
| Category | Cardiac telerehabilitation (n = 153) | Center-based cardiac rehabilitation (n = 147) | Differencea | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Volume, % | Cost, mean (SE), € ($)b | Volume, % | Cost, mean (SE), € ($)b | Cost, mean, € ($)b | P valuec | |
| Cardiac health care costs | ||||||
| Rehabilitation exercise trainingd | 100 | 224 (4) (256 [4]) | 99 | 156 (5) (178 [6]) | 69 (79) | <.001 |
| Physical therapye | 52 | 282 (44) (322 [50]) | 47 | 310 (53) (354 [61]) | −28 (−32) | .66 |
| Medications | 98 | 633 (73) (723 [83]) | 100 | 667 (75) (762 [85]) | −33 (−38) | .72 |
| Cardiac caref | NA | 1320 (327) (1507 [373]) | NA | 1426 (335) (1628 [382]) | −106 (−121) | .79 |
| Emergency careg | NA | 615 (94) (702 [107]) | NA | 723 (130) (826 [148]) | −109 (−124) | .48 |
| Hospital stay | 33 | 711 (141) (812 [162]) | 36 | 1141 (231) (1303 [263]) | −430 (−491) | .10 |
| General practitioner | 85 | 194 (19) (222 [22]) | 93 | 218 (24) (249 [28]) | −24 (−27) | .41 |
| Psychological careh | NA | 305 (56) (348 [64]) | NA | 364 (67) (416 [76]) | −59 (−67) | .48 |
| Paramedical carei | NA | 149 (26) (170 [30]) | NA | 149 (28) (170 [31]) | 0 | .99 |
| Company physician | 60 | 292 (33) (333 [37]) | 60 | 289 (35) (330 [40]) | 3 (3) | .95 |
| Smoking cessation | 10 | 34 (12) (39 [13]) | 15 | 52 (13) (59 [15]) | −18 (−21) | .25 |
| Home care | NA | 28 (19) (32 [22]) | NA | 11 (8) (13 [9]) | 16 (18) | .43 |
| Total costs | NA | 4787 (503) (5467 [574]) | NA | 5507 (659) (6289 [753]) | −720 (−822) | .36 |
| Non–health care costs | ||||||
| Absence from work (measured by FCM) | 35 | 2711 (568) (3096 [649]) | 33 | 3319 (755) (3790 [862]) | −607 (−693) | .48 |
| Presence at work | 40 | 2379 (523) (2717 [598]) | 37 | 2490 (537) (2844 [613]) | −111 (−127) | .87 |
| Unpaid labor | 37 | 5249 (1170) (5994 [1336]) | 43 | 7802 (1720) (8910 [1964]) | −2553 (−2916) | .19 |
| Informal care | 57 | 5368 (1116) (6130 [1274]) | 50 | 5263 (1159) (6010 [1324]) | 104 (119) | .94 |
| Total costs (measured by FCM) | NA | 15 708 (2420) (17 939 [2764]) | NA | 18 874 (3115) (21 554 [3557]) | −3166 (−3616) | .37 |
| Total cardiac health care and non–health care costs (measured by FCM) | NA | 20 495 (2751) (23 405 [3142]) | NA | 24 381 (3613) (27 843 [4126]) | −3887 (−4439) | .34 |
Abbreviations: CTR, cardiac telerehabilitation; FCM, friction cost method; NA, not applicable.
A negative cost difference indicates savings in favor of CTR.
Costs were converted to 2020 price levels (in euros) using the Dutch consumer price index. To convert to US dollars, euro values were multiplied by 1.142, the mean exchange rate in 2020.
P values based on 2-tailed t test for unequal variance.
Cardiac rehabilitation exercise training includes center-based and home-based training.
Physical therapy includes costs of physical therapy not associated with the study intervention.
Cardiac care includes cardiac outpatient visits and cardiac day treatment.
Emergency care includes ambulance transportation and emergency department visits.
Psychological care includes care by a psychologist or social worker.
Paramedical care includes occupational and speech therapy, dietician visits, and homeopathy.