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Abstract
Evaluation of: Baeten SA, van Exel NJ, Dirks M, Koopmanschap MA, Dippel DW, Niessen LW. Lifetime health effects and medical costs of integrated stroke services – a nonrandomized controlled cluster-trial based life table approach. Cost Eff. Resour. Alloc. 8, 21 (2010).
The clinical efficacy of specialist stroke care is proven; however, corresponding economic analyses are limited. Baeten and colleagues present an analysis of the effects of an integrated stroke service and report cost–effectiveness compared with usual care. Improving efficiency of the stroke survivor’s journey is an attractive intervention and this article is a welcome addition to the emerging literature on the subject. Overall, data on integrated services are encouraging, but not definitive. The article highlights the challenges of performing longer-term economic analysis in stroke care and highlights certain deficiencies in our current understanding of the economics of post-acute stroke care.
Financial & competing interests disclosure
Terence Quinn has published original research and review articles on the benefits of thrombolysis and stroke unit care. The author has no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.
No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.