Cost-Effectiveness of the START Hospital Addiction Consultation Service for Opioid Use Disorder Treatment

Is a hospital-based addiction consultation service (ACS) cost-effective for increasing the initiation of US Food and Drug Administration–approved medication for opioid use disorder in the hospital and linking patients to follow-up care after discharge?In this economic evaluation of 325 patients, a hospital-based ACS was cost-effective compared with usual care. From a health-sector perspective, the ACS was associated with an incremental cost of $162 and 0.0103 quality-adjusted life-year (QALY) gained per person, leading to an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of $15 750/QALY gained.These findings suggest that the hospital-based ACS was a cost-effective way to improve care for hospitalized patients with opioid use disorder.

Corresponding Author: Adeyemi Okunogbe, MBChB, PhD, RAND Corporation, 1200 South Hayes, Arlington, VA 22202 (yemiokunogbe@gmail.com).

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