Toggle Main Menu Toggle Search

Open Access padlockePrints

UK multiple sclerosis risk-sharing scheme: a new natural history dataset and an improved Markov model

Lookup NU author(s): Dr Duddy Duddy

Downloads


Licence

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0).


Abstract

Objectives: In 2002, the UK's National Institute for Health and Care Excellence concluded that the multiple sclerosis (MS) disease modifying therapies; interferon-beta and glatiramer acetate, were not cost effective over the short term but recognised that reducing disability over the longer term might dramatically improve the cost effectiveness. The UK Risk-sharing Scheme (RSS) was established to ensure cost-effective provision by prospectively collecting disability-related data from UK-treated patients with MS and comparing findings to a natural history (untreated) cohort. However, deficiencies were found in the originally selected untreated cohort and the resulting analytical approach. This study aims to identify a more suitable natural history cohort and to develop a robust analytical approach using the new cohort.Design: The Scientific Advisory Group, recommended the British Columbia Multiple Sclerosis (BCMS) database, Canada, as providing a more suitable natural history comparator cohort. Transition probabilities were derived and different Markov models (discrete and continuous) with and without baseline covariates were applied.Setting: MS clinics in Canada and the UK.Participants: From the BCMS database, 898 'untreated' patients with MS considered eligible for drug treatment based on the UK's Association of British Neurologists criteria.Outcome measure: The predicted Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) score was collected and assessed for goodness of fit when compared with actual outcome.Results: The BCMS untreated cohort contributed 7335 EDSS scores over a median 6.4 years (6357 EDSS 'transitions' recorded at consecutive visits) during the period 1980-1995. A continuous Markov model with 'onset age' as a binary covariate was deemed the most suitable model for future RSS analysis.Conclusions: A new untreated MS cohort from British Columbia has been selected and will be modelled using a continuous Markov model with onset age as a baseline covariate. This approach will now be applied to the treated UK RSS MS cohort for future price adjustment calculations.


Publication metadata

Author(s): Palace J, Bregenzer T, Tremlett H, Oger J, Zhu F, Boggild M, Duddy M, Dobson C

Publication type: Article

Publication status: Published

Journal: BMJ Open

Year: 2014

Volume: 4

Issue: 1

Print publication date: 03/02/2014

Date deposited: 25/09/2015

ISSN (electronic): 2044-6055

Publisher: BMJ Publishing Group

URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2013-004073

DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2013-004073


Altmetrics

Altmetrics provided by Altmetric


Share