Newborn screening for spinal muscular atrophy is a cost effective use of NHS resources, according to new analysis.
The analysis shows NBS saves £67,238,145 over the lifetime of a newborn cohort, based on about 59 babies identified with SMA per year in England.
It also showed there are improved health outcomes with NBS, with an estimated gain of 567 quality-adjusted life years (QALY) over the lifetime of a newborn cohort identified per year.
The analysis was presented in a poster at ISPOR, the European conference for health economics and outcomes research.
Study author Professor Laurent Servais, paediatric neurologist at MDUK Oxford Neuromuscular Centre, University of Oxford, said: “Very few interventions in health care show this level of savings, which represent a cost effective use of resources in a deeply constrained, overwhelmed health service.
“I believe this to be a robust and reliable economic model, which I hope will allow SMA to be added to the newborn screening programme in the UK as soon as possible.”
SMA, a rare disease that often results in death or the need for permanent ventilation before two years of age if untreated, is associated with substantial costs including hospitalisation, medical devices, mobility aids, as well as indirect costs such as changes in employment status for caregivers and loss of productivity.
NBS programmes have recently been launched in several countries across Europe and worldwide because without it, most infants suffer irreversible loss of motor neurons before they are diagnosed and treated.
Weidlich, D. et al, Cost Effectiveness of Newborn Screening for Spinal Muscular Atrophy November 2022.
Leave a Reply