The Swedish Dental and Pharmaceutical Benefits Agency (TLV) has, at the request of the Medical Technology Product Council (MTP), carried out a Health economic analysis of Coala Heart Monitor Pro for remote monitoring and diagnosis of atrial fibrillation. The results have now been published by TLV with the conclusion that the use of Coala Heart Monitor Pro can provide greater benefit at a lower cost with a cost saving of approximately SEK 606 to SEK 929 per investigation compared with a 24-hour Holter ECG.
TLV's assessment is based on a Health economic analysis carried out in 2021 by Quantify Research, a consulting company specializing in Health economic investigations. The analysis compares cost and benefit of Coala Heart Monitor Pro and 24-hour Holter in Swedish healthcare setting. TLV concludes that Coala Heart Monitor Pro is cost-saving and generates greater benefit for the patient by detecting symptoms to a greater extent and thereby enables treatment to reduce the incidence/risk of stroke.
“TLV's assessment supports our analysis, and it is gratifying that both of these expert groups have come to the conclusion that Coala Heart Monitor Pro provides significant benefits to healthcare. Our patient-centered solution has the potential to reduce the burden on healthcare and shorten the waiting time for investigation of atrial fibrillation,” comments Dan Pitulia, CEO of Coala Life.
“During the model development, we have worked closely with clinical expertise to close knowledge gaps where reliable data have been limited and to ensure that the model reflects a real world setting as accurately as possible. We have also received input from primary care physicians who already use Coala Heart Monitor Pro in their clinical practice, to adapt model scenarios accordingly. We are therefore confident that our evaluation, showing Coala Heart Monitor Pro to be a cost-saving alternative in Swedish primary care is reliable,” explains Rosa Lauppe, Associate Director at Quantify Research and responsible for the analysis commissioned by Coala Life.
Atrial fibrillation is the most common arrhythmia in adults. In Sweden alone, it is estimated that over 300,000 people over the age of 20 have experienced symptoms of atrial fibrillation. Approximately ten percent of Sweden's population over the age of 80 is estimated to have atrial fibrillation, and in all age groups, atrial fibrillation is more common in men than in women. It is estimated that about a third of all atrial fibrillation is silent and asymptomatic, which leads to difficulties in making a diagnosis and can result in increased risk of stroke. Novel medical technology solutions such as Coala Heart Monitor Pro provide healthcare providers with a cost-effective tool with higher diagnostic precision for investigations of intermittent atrial fibrillation compared to conventional 24-hour Holter ECG.
TLV's report is available for download here.