Les sites de consommation supervisée permettent de réaliser des économies en évitant les services d'urgence : Une étude d'analyse des coûts au Canada

Khair et al. démontrent que les sites de consommation supervisée de drogues permettent non seulement de sauver des vies, mais aussi de réaliser des économies notables par rapport aux coûts de prise en charge des overdoses par les services d'urgence. Pour en savoir plus, en anglais, veuillez lire les informations ci-dessous.

Abstract

Background and aims: We report on a cost analysis study, using population level data to determine the emergency service costs avoided from emergency overdose management at supervised consumption services (SCS). Design: We completed a cost analysis from a payer’s perspective. In this setting, there is a single-payer model of service delivery.

Setting: In Calgary, Canada, ‘Safeworks Harm Reduction Program’ was established in late 2017 and ofers 24/7 access to SCS. The facility is a nurse-led service, available for client drop-in. We conducted a cost analysis for the entire duration of the program from November 2017 to January 2020, a period of 2 years and 3 months.

Methods: We assessed costs using the following factors from government health databases: monthly operational costs of providing services for drug consumption, cost of providing ambulance pre-hospital care for clients with overdoses who could not be revived at the facility, cost of initial treatment in an emergency department, and beneft of costs averted from overdoses that were successfully managed at the SCS.

Results: The proportion of clients who have overdosed at the SCS has decreased steadily for the duration of the program. The number of overdoses that can be managed on site at the SCS has trended upward, currently 98%. Each overdose that is managed at the SCS produces approximately $1600 CAD in cost savings, with a savings of over $2.3 million for the lifetime of the program.

Conclusion: Overdose management at an SCS creates cost savings by ofsetting costs required for managing overdoses using emergency department and pre-hospital ambulance services.

Keywords: Supervised consumption services, Opioids, Overdose, Emergency services, Cost analysis