Researchers from Charite – University Medicine Berlin Report Recent Findings in Atopic Dermatitis (Effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of treatment with additional enrollment to a homeopathic integrated care contract in Germany)

2020 SEP 29 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Health Policy and Law Daily -- Investigators discuss new findings in Skin Diseases and Conditions - Atopic Dermatitis. According to news reporting from Berlin, Germany, by NewsRx journalists, research stated, “A number of German statutory health insurance companies are offering integrated care contracts for homeopathy (ICCHs) that cover the reimbursement of homeopathic treatment. The effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of these contracts are highly debated.”

Financial support for this research came from Techniker Krankenkasse.

The news correspondents obtained a quote from the research from Charite - University Medicine Berlin, “To evaluate the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of treatment after an additional enrollment in an ICCH, a comparative, prospective, observational study was conducted in which participants in the ICCH (HOM group) were compared with matched (on diagnosis, sex and age) insured individuals (CON group) who received usual care alone. Those insured with either migraine or headache, allergic rhinitis, asthma, atopic dermatitis and depression were included. Primary effectiveness outcomes were the baseline adjusted scores of diagnosis-specific questionnaires (e.g. RQLQ, AQLQ, DLQI, BDI-II) after 6 months. Primary cost-effectiveness endpoints were the baseline adjusted total costs from an insurer perspective in relation to the achieved quality-adjusted life years (QALYs). Costs were derived from health claims data and QALYs were calculated based on SF-12 data. Data from 2524 participants (1543 HOM group) were analyzed. The primary effectiveness outcomes after six months were statistically significant in favor of the HOM group for migraine or headache (D=difference between groups, days with headache: -0.9, p=0.042), asthma (D-AQLQ(S): + 0.4, p=0.014), atopic dermatitis (D-DLQI: -5.6, p 0.001) and depression (D-BDI-II: -5.6, p 0.001). BDI-II differences reached the minimal clinically important difference. For all diagnoses, the adjusted mean total costs over 12 months were higher in the HOM group from an insurer perspective, with migraine or headache, atopic dermatitis and depression suggesting cost-effectiveness in terms of additional costs per QALY gained. After an additional enrollment in the ICCH, the treatment of participants with depression showed minimally clinically relevant improvements. From an insurer perspective, treatment with an ICCH enrollment resulted in higher costs over all diagnoses but seemed to be cost-effective for migraine or headache, atopic dermatitis and depression according to international used threshold values. Based on the study design and further limitations, our findings should be considered cautiously and no conclusions regarding the effectiveness of specific treatment components can be made. Further research is needed to overcome limitations of this study and to confirm our findings. clinicaltrials.gov , NCT01854580.”

According to the news reporters, the research concluded: “Registered 15 March 2013 -Retrospectively registered, https://clinicaltrials.”

For more information on this research see: Effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of treatment with additional enrollment to a homeopathic integrated care contract in Germany. Bmc Health Services Research, 2020;20(1):872. Bmc Health Services Research can be contacted at: Biomed Central LTD, Middlesex House, 34-42 Cleveland St, London W1T 4LB, England. (BioMed Central - http://www.biomedcentral.com/; Bmc Health Services Research - http://www.biomedcentral.com/bmchealthservres/)

Our news journalists report that additional information may be obtained by contacting Benjamin Kass, Institute for Social Medicine, Epidemiology and Health Economics, Charite University Hospital and School of Medicine, corporate member of Freie Universitat BerlinHumboldt-Universitat zu Berlin and Berlin Institute of Health, Berlin, Germany. Additional authors for this research include Katja Icke, Claudia M. Witt and Thomas Reinhold.

The direct object identifier (DOI) for that additional information is: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-020-05706-4. This DOI is a link to an online electronic document that is either free or for purchase, and can be your direct source for a journal article and its citation.

Publisher contact information for the journal Bmc Health Services Research is: Biomed Central LTD, Middlesex House, 34-42 Cleveland St, London W1T 4LB, England.

(Our reports deliver fact-based news of research and discoveries from around the world.)