Purpose: Head and neck cancer and its treatment deteriorate quality of life, but symptoms improve with person-centred care. We examined the cost-effectiveness of a person-centred care intervention versus standard medical care.
Methods: In this randomized clinical trial of a person-centred intervention, patients were planned for outpatient oncology treatment in a Swedish university hospital between 2012 and 2014 and were followed during 1 year. Annual healthcare costs were identified from medical records and administrative register data. Productivity costs were calculated from reported sick leave. Health-related quality of life was collected using the EuroQol Group's five-dimension health state questionnaire.
Results: Characteristics were similar between 53 patients in the intervention group and 39 control patients. The average total cost was Euro (EUR) 55,544 (95% confidence interval: EUR 48,474-62,614) in the intervention group and EUR 57,443 (EUR 48,607-66,279) among controls, with similar health-related quality of life.
Conclusions: This person-centred intervention did not result in increased costs and dominated the standard medical care.
Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov (registration number: NCT02982746).
Keywords: Head and neck neoplasms; Health care costs; Patient care management; Person-centred care; Randomized controlled trial.