A cost analysis of a conversion from intravenous (IV) to subcutaneous (SC) epoetin a in patients receiving chronic in-center hemodialysis (HD).
This retrospective analysis compared epoetin a drug costs during a 6-month period of IV usage (July to December 2010, period 1) to a 6-month period of SC usage (July to December 2011, period 2) in four large in-center HD units. Data were collected from quarterly counts of HD patients receiving epoetin a and monthly inventory billing records.
622 HD patients who received IV epoetin a (period 1) were compared to 609 HD patients who received SC epoetin a (period 2). A 12.6% decrease in dose was observed. The average weekly cost of epoetin a was USD 173.02 per patient during the IV period versus USD 151.20 per patient during the SC period. This equated to a yearly cost savings of USD 1,135 per patient with SC epoetin a.
The switch from IV to SC epoetin a was successfully implemented in all four centers and realized significant cost savings.