Primary studies included in this systematic review

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Primary study

Unclassified

Journal Psychological medicine
Year 2011
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BACKGROUND: During the last decades we have seen a new focus on early treatment of psychosis. Several reviews have shown that duration of untreated psychosis (DUP) is correlated to better outcome. However, it is still unknown whether early treatment will lead to a better long-term outcome. This study reports the effects of reducing DUP on 5-year course and outcome. METHOD: During 1997-2000 a total of 281 consecutive patients aged >17 years with first episode non-affective psychosis were recruited, of which 192 participated in the 5-year follow-up. A comprehensive early detection (ED) programme with public information campaigns and low-threshold psychosis detection teams was established in one healthcare area (ED-area), but not in a comparable area (no-ED area). Both areas ran equivalent treatment programmes during the first 2 years and need-adapted treatment thereafter. RESULTS: At the start of treatment, ED-patients had shorter DUP and less symptoms than no-ED-patients. There were no significant differences in treatment (psychotherapy and medication) for the 5 years. Mixed-effects modelling showed better scores for the ED group on the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale negative, depressive and cognitive factors and for global assessment of functioning for social functioning at 5-year follow-up. The ED group also had more contacts with friends. Regression analysis did not find that these differences could be explained by confounders. CONCLUSIONS: Early treatment had positive effects on clinical and functional status at 5-year follow-up in first episode psychosis.

Primary study

Unclassified

Authors Wong KK , Chan SK , Lam MM , Hui CL , Hung SF , Tay M , Lee KH , Chen EY
Journal The Australian and New Zealand journal of psychiatry
Year 2011
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OBJECTIVE: The Early Assessment Service for Young People with Early Psychosis (EASY) was developed in Hong Kong in 2001 to provide a comprehensive and integrated approach for early detection and intervention for young people suffering from first episode psychosis. The present study examined the cost-effectiveness of the service over a period of 24 months compared to standard care. METHOD: This is a historical control study. Sixty-five patients who presented to the EASY service in 2001 with first episode psychosis were individually matched (on age, sex and diagnosis) with 65 patients who received standard psychiatric care in a precursor service (pre-EASY) between 1999 and 2000. A retrospective cost-effectiveness analysis was conducted over a period of 24 months. The overall average cost of service utilization per patient and the effects on hospitalization rate were compared using bootstrapping analysis. Cost per point improvement in Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) was also computed with sensitivity analysis. Only direct costs were analysed in the current study. RESULTS: There was no significant difference in service utilization between the EASY and pre-EASY standard care groups. The cost-effectiveness acceptability curve, which was used to explore uncertainty in estimates of cost and effects, suggested that there was a probability of at least 94% that the EASY model was more cost-effective than the pre-EASY service in reducing psychiatric inpatient admissions. EASY patients also showed superior results in average cost per unit improvement in PANSS. CONCLUSIONS: EASY is likely to be more cost-effective in improving outcomes, particularly in reducing hospitalization and improving clinical symptoms among young people with first episode psychosis. This study provides a perspective from the east Asian region, and supports further development of similar services, particularly in the local setting. However, further studies with a longer follow up period and larger sample size are required to verify these findings.

Primary study

Unclassified

Journal Early intervention in psychiatry
Year 2011
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AIM: Early intervention programmes are expected to result in the reduction of illness severity in patients with schizophrenia, and contain health-care costs by reducing hospital admissions and improving the social functioning of patients. This study aimed to investigate the cost-effectiveness of treatment in an early intervention programme in comparison to standard care. METHODS: Retrospective analysis of data prospectively recorded in an urban area (Milan, Italy). Twenty-three patients from an early intervention programme and 23 patients from standard care with first-episode psychosis were evaluated on their use of services over a 5-year period. The Health of the Nation Outcome Scale was used to measure clinical status. RESULTS: Significant changes with respect to initial assessment were recorded on the Health of the Nation Outcome Scale, with larger effect sizes in the early intervention programme than in the standard care group. Consequently, the cost-effectiveness ratio per reduced score of severity was lower in the early intervention programme than in standard care (€ 4802 vs. € 9871), with an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio, or net saving of €-1204 for every incremental reduced score of severity. Over time, greater recourse to hospital and residential facilities to obtain comparable improvement in symptoms resulted in a steady cost increase for the patients in standard care. CONCLUSIONS: Allocation of funds to specialized early intervention programmes is the best alternative, as it can save costs by reducing the use of hospitals and residential facilities, and may produce net savings of costs in the long term.

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Primary study

Unclassified

Journal Psychological medicine
Year 2009
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BACKGROUND: Despite the increasing development of early intervention services for psychosis, little is known about their cost-effectiveness. We assessed the cost-effectiveness of Outreach and Support in South London (OASIS), a service for people with an at-risk mental state (ARMS) for psychosis. METHOD: The costs of OASIS compared to care as usual (CAU) were entered in a decision model and examined for 12- and 24-month periods, using the duration of untreated psychosis (DUP) and rate of transition to psychosis as key parameters. The costs were calculated on the basis of services used following referral and the impact on employment. Sensitivity analysis was used to test the robustness of all the assumptions made in the model. RESULTS: Over the initial 12 months from presentation, the costs of the OASIS intervention were pound1872 higher than CAU. However, after 24 months they were pound961 less than CAU. CONCLUSIONS: This model suggests that services that permit early detection of people at high risk of psychosis may be cost saving.

Primary study

Unclassified

Journal Schizophrenia bulletin
Year 2009
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OBJECTIVE: This study assesses the long-term cost-effectiveness of a comprehensive model of mental health care for first-episode psychosis. The study is an extension of a previous economic evaluation of the Early Psychosis Prevention and Intervention Centre (EPPIC) that assessed the first-year costs and outcomes of treatment. METHOD: The current study used a matched, historical control group design with a follow-up of approximately 8 years. Complete follow-up data were available for 65 of the original 102 participants. Direct public mental health service costs incurred subsequent to the first year of treatment and symptomatic and functional outcomes of 32 participants initially treated for up to 2 years at EPPIC were compared with a matched cohort of 33 participants initially treated by generic mental health services. Treatment-related resource use was measured and valued using Australian published prices. RESULTS: Almost 8 years after initial treatment, EPPIC subjects displayed lower levels of positive psychotic symptoms (P = .007), were more likely to be in remission (P = .008), and had a more favorable course of illness (P = .011) than the controls. Fifty-six percent of the EPPIC cohort were in paid employment over the last 2 years compared with 33% of controls (P = .083). Each EPPIC patient costs on average A$3445 per annum to treat compared with controls, who each costs A$9503 per annum. CONCLUSIONS: Specialized early psychosis programs can deliver a higher recovery rate at one-third the cost of standard public mental health services. Residual methodological limitations and limited sample size indicate that further research is required to verify this finding.

Primary study

Unclassified

Journal Early intervention in psychiatry
Year 2009
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Aim: Costs associated with mental health treatment for young persons at 'ultra' high risk (UHR) of developing a psychotic disorder have not previously been reported. This paper reports cost implications of providing psychological and pharmacological intervention for individuals at UHR for psychosis compared with minimal psychological treatment. Method: Mental health service costs associated with a randomized controlled trial of two treatments (Specific Preventive Intervention: SPI and Needs-Based Intervention: NBI) for UHR young persons were estimated and compared at three time points: treatment phase, short-term follow up and medium-term follow up. Results: Although the SPI group incurred significantly higher treatment costs than the NBI group over the treatment phase, they incurred significantly lower outpatient treatment costs over the longer term. Conclusion: This study indicates that specific interventions designed to treat young persons who are identified as being at UHR of psychosis might be associated with some cost savings compared with non-specific interventions. © 2009 The Author Journal compilation © 2009 Blackwell Publishing Asia Pty Ltd.

Primary study

Unclassified

Journal European psychiatry : the journal of the Association of European Psychiatrists
Year 2009
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Schizophrenia is associated with a high familiar, social and economic burden. During the recent years early and specific intervention for first psychotic episodes has been suggested to improve the long term outcome of the disease. Despite the promising results obtained so far, early intervention is still scarcely applied. One major problem arises from the translation of research findings into stakeholder policies. In fact very few analyses of cost reductions obtained with early intervention have been reported. In the present paper we present a simulation of direct cost reduction that can be obtained with early intervention programmes. We based our analysis on available data about schizophrenia care costs in Italy and the expected cost reduction with the use of early intervention. We observed that the increase in costs due to the more intensive early intervention is largely compensated by the reduction of inpatient admissions with a reduction of direct costs of 6.01%. Despite the apparently small economic gain, early intervention offers more clinical and social benefits as it seems to be effective also in decreasing relapse rates, in improving the patients' quality of life and disability associated with psychosis and in increasing employment rates. Those indirect costs however are difficult to estimate and were not included in our model. In conclusion, our study supports the use of early intervention in schizophrenia, which could allow an outcome improvement with lower direct and indirect costs.

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This thread includes 33 references

Primary study

Unclassified

Journal Canadian journal of psychiatry. Revue canadienne de psychiatrie
Year 2006
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OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the impact of a new early intervention service for first-episode psychosis on patient characteristics, service use, and hospital costs. METHOD: We examined clinical records of all first admissions to hospitals of patients diagnosed with first-episode psychoses (nonaffective) over a 3-year period before and after the introduction of an early intervention service, the Prevention and Early Intervention Program for Psychosis (PEPP), in a defined catchment area. We examined demographic, clinical, and service use indices covering a 2-year period subsequent to the index admission for each patient. RESULTS: Patients in the post-PEPP phase were significantly younger (P < 0.01), were more often male (P < 0.05), and were less likely to be admitted to hospital with an involuntary status (P < 0.05) or with injuries (P < 0.05) at the time of their first hospital admission. Over the 2 years following the initial admission, post-PEPP patients had significantly fewer admissions to a regular psychiatric service (P < 0.001) and made significantly fewer visits to the hospital emergency department (P < 0.01). There was a significant mean reduction in costs per case of regular hospital bed use ($1028.49, SD 528.02, compared with $792.28, SD 528.02; P < 0.01) and emergency visits ($519.18, SD 353.79, compared with $353.79, SD 345.0; P < 0.01). Time series analyses followed by Chow tests failed to confirm that these cost changes could be attributed specifically to the introduction of an early intervention service. CONCLUSION: Introduction of a specialized early intervention program may be beneficial to patients and to the health care system. To evaluate the cost-benefit ratio of early intervention services, longer term and more detailed data may be required.