Introduction/Objective
The aim of the present study was to reevaluate the cost-effectiveness of a “screen (with DXA)-and-treat (with alendronate)”-strategy of osteoporosis treatment for Switzerland, after the price of the original brand of alendronate (Fosamax®) has been reduced by 36%.
Methods
The detailed health economic evaluation of such a strategy applied to postmenopausal women living in Switzerland was published earlier. Briefly, three screening ages (65, 75 and 85 years) and three treatment scenarios (treatment duration of 5 or 10 years with varying persistence assumptions) were analysed by way of a validated Markov model. The only parameter which was changed for this reevaluation was the new lower price of the original brand of alendronate.
Results
From the perspective of the Swiss health system in 2007, at a cost-effectiveness threshold of CHF 50,000 per QALY, a “screen-and-treat”-strategy appears to be cost-effective at the age of 65 years or older, under conservative assumptions and independent of the individual risk profile.