PROFET Improved clinical outcomes at no additional cost

INTRODUCTION: The Prevention of Falls in the Elderly Trial (PROFET) is a randomised controlled study of a steructured bidisciplinary assessment of older people attending A & E with a fall. Results have shown a significant reduction in the number of further falls in the intervention group as well as preservation of function. The present study is an economic analysis of PROFET. METHODOLOGY: The cost of the intervention package was estimated by applying national unit costs (Netten & Dennett, 1998) to the staff inputs, and local cost data for the additional hospital tests carried out. Health service costs incurred during the follow-up period were estimated by applying national unit costs to service use data obtained from patient questionnaires and hospital activity data. Analyses were conducted using non-parametric bootstrap methods (Efron, 1993). RESULTS: 147/397 patients were admitted to hospital as a result of their index fall, occupying a mean of 26 bed days at a mean cost of E5793 per admission.