Economic considerations in the management of Alzheimer’s disease

Abstract

Alzheimer’s disease is a devastating chronic disease that significantly increases healthcare costs and affects the quality of life (QoL) of the afflicted patients and their caregivers. Population aging and other demographic changes may further increase the already staggering costs of this devastating disease. While few pharmacoeconomic studies have used a prospective health economics design to assess resource utilization, most studies showed beneficial treatment effects and suggested potential savings in healthcare costs and reductions in caregiver burden. Various degrees of cost savings have been reported depending on the type of economic model, treatment evaluated, and region used in the studies. Direct comparisons of the results are difficult because different methods have been used in these evaluations. The preference of patients and families for home care for as long as possible suggests that promoting noninstitutional care for these patients should become a priority. Continued home care for patients under pharmacological treatment may reduce caregiver burden, healthcare costs, and ultimately improve patients’ and caregivers’ QoL.

Keywords:

• Alzheimer’s disease
• pharmacoeconomics
• cost
• economic management

Disclosure

The authors have reported no conflicts of interest. The work is supported by the Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration. The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the Department of Veterans Affairs.