Costes económicos relacionados con el diagnóstico de la fibromialgia

Entre el colectivo de enfermos de fibromialgia una de sus mayores reivindicaciones es la premisa de un diagnóstico que se ajuste a un tiempo real y necesario para los profesionales de la salud y abandonar los tiempos que se están utilizando para diagnosticar la fibromialgia que en la mayoría de los casos se cifran en años asociados a múltiples pruebas y derivaciones a especialistas que no hacen sino deteriorar la salud del implicado y llevarlo a niveles de ansiedad totalmente innecesarios.
Aparte del problema emocional que conlleva este retraso en el diagnóstico cuando analiza la situación y reflexiona desde la información el afectado descubre que ha supuesto un gasto totalmente innecesario para el sistema público de salud. Este problema actual es el que recoge el siguiente estudio en el que se ha llegado a la conclusión de que fallar el diagnóstico en casos verdaderos de enfermos de fibromialgia supone un gran costo en recursos sanitarios (pruebas, asistencia a especialista, medicaciones y otros) totalmente innecesarios.

Edición | fibromialgia.nom.es 13-02-2008

Health economic consequences related to the diagnosis of fibromyalgia syndrome
L. Annemans 1, S. Wessely 2 6, E. Spaepen 3, K. Caekelbergh 3, J. P. Caubère 4, K. Le Lay 5, C. Taïeb 5 *
1IMS Health, Brussels, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
2King's College, University of London, London, UK
3IMS Health, Brussels, Belgium
4Pierre Fabre SA, Castres, France
5Pierre Fabre SA, Boulogne-Billancourt, France
6Brussels University, Brussels, Belgium
email: C. Taïeb (charles.taieb@pierre-fabre.com)

*Correspondence to C. Taïeb, Santé Publique and Qualité de Vie, Pierre Fabre, 45, Place Abel Gance, 92 654 Boulogne-Billancourt, France
Dr. Annemans has received consulting fees, speaking fees, and/or honoraria (more than $10,000) from Pierre Fabre Laboratories.

Funded by:
Pierre Fabre SA, France

Abstract

Objective
To evaluate the use and costs of medical resources before and after a diagnosis of fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) in a large primary care population in the UK.

Methods
We applied an existing data set for medical resource use among patients with a coded diagnosis of FMS. The observed quantities of 157 types of medical resource use before and after the diagnosis of FMS were multiplied by unit costs in order to calculate the cost of care (general practitioner [GP] visits, drugs, referrals, and diagnostics) within the National Health Service, excluding hospital costs. Costs before diagnosis were used in a trend analysis to predict later costs, assuming the diagnosis had never been made, and these predicted costs were compared with the observed costs after diagnosis.

Results
Following a diagnosis of FMS, a decrease in costs as compared with the predicted trend was observed. In the 4 years after diagnosis, the average difference between the predicted and observed cost was £66.21 per 6 months per patient. This suggests that making the diagnosis leads to savings and a decrease in resource use. The main effect was observed for tests and imaging (£24.02 per 6 months), followed by pharmaceuticals (£22.27), referrals (£15.56), and GP visits (£4.36).

Conclusion
Failure to diagnose a true case of FMS has its own costs, largely in excess GP visits, investigations, and prescriptions.
Received: 9 March 2007; Accepted: 26 November 2007

tags blogs fibromialgia síndrome+fatiga+cronica sindrome+quimico+multiple dolor dolor+cronico fibromyalgia pain fibromialgia sindrome fatiga cronica sindrome+quimico+multiple dolor cronico