Applying economic models to estimate local economic benefits of improved coverage of early intervention for psychosis

Abstract

Aim Early Intervention Psychosis Services (EIPS) for people experiencing First Episode Psychosis (FEP) offer important clinical and non‐clinical benefits over standard care. Similarly, intervention for Clinical High Risk for Psychosis state (CHR‐P) can prevent psychosis, ameliorate symptoms and have non‐clinical benefits. This study aimed to estimate associated local economic benefits of FEP and CHR‐P services compared with standard care. Methods Across four south London boroughs, proportion of annual number of new cases of FEP and CHR‐P seen by early intervention services was estimated. Economic modelling conducted for England's mental health strategy was applied to estimate local economic impacts of current and improved service provision. Results Across four London boroughs during 2011/2012, proportion of 15‐34 year olds with FEP seen by EIPS was 100.2% assuming 80/100 000 annual incidence whereas proportion with CHR‐P seen by CHR‐P services was 4.1% assuming 200/100 000 annual incidence. Application of economic modelling suggests that provision of EIPS to reach all new FEP cases each year would free up resources of £13.1m over 10 years including £2.0m to National Health Service (NHS) after the first year. Scaling up to reach all new CHR‐P cases each year would free up resources of £19.7m over 10 years with an estimated 10‐year cost of implementation gap for each 1 year cohort of £18.9m. An earlier related briefing resulted in increased funding for EIPS and new CHR‐P services despite overall cuts to mental health services. Conclusions Estimation of local economic impacts of FEP and CHR‐P services was associated with improved investment in such services.

Public mental health: required actions to address implementation failure in the context of COVID-19

“…Impact and associated economic benefits of PMH interventions across various sectors can be estimated for different levels of coverage. 8,102 An example highlighting the size of economic impact from improved implementation nationally is the comprehensive coverage of nine PMH interventions across England, outlined as part of a previous mental health strategy, which was estimated to result in net economic savings of £43•8 billion over different time frames. 76 Another example is the scaling up of effective treatments for anxiety and depression across 36 countries between 2016 and 2030, which was estimated to result in net savings of US$310 billion from health benefits and net savings of $399 billion from improved productivity.…”

A public early intervention approach to first‐episode psychosis: Treated incidence over 7 years in the Emilia‐Romagna region

“…Another model uses individual clinical data and area‐level information to predict the outcomes of patients with FEP during treatment (Leighton et al, 2019). Similar instruments may be of crucial help for policymakers to plan resource allocation (Aceituno et al, 2019; Campion et al, 2019) as well as for clinicians to identify high‐risk individuals/populations (Belvederi Murri et al, 2022).…”