Cost-Effectiveness Analysis of Hospice-Palliative Care for Adults with Terminal Cancer in South Korea

Abstract

Background/Aims: Although there is growing interest in hospice-palliative care, little information is available on the effects of such care in South Korea. Addressing this research gap, i.e., determining the cost-effectiveness of hospice-palliative care in South Korea, will help guide policy. Thus, the aim of this study was to evaluate the cost-effectiveness analysis of hospice-palliative care in adults diagnosed with terminal cancer. Methods: We used a Markov model to construct a decision tree, for an analysis comparing the general ward with the hospice- palliative ward in terms of patient quality of life and cost-effectiveness. Cost and quality of life were estimated based on published Korean studies. Cost-effectiveness was calculated as the incremental cost relative to the incremental effect. Additionally, a one-way sensitivity analysis was performed to test the robustness of the results. Results: Hospice-palliative ward care was more cost-effective than general ward care. The incremental cost was 290,401 Korean won (KRW) and the incremental effect was -0.25. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio was -1,174,045 KRW. A similar pattern of results was obtained in the sensitivity analysis. Conclusions: Our results suggest that hospice-palliative ward care is more cost-effective than general ward care.