Value assessment of new interventions for Alzheimer’s disease dementia in Japan based on literature review and group interview

Abstract

Introduction: With an increase in the number of patients with Alzheimer’s disease dementia (ADD), new health technologies have been developed to address the problem. We propose an optimal way to assess the disease burden and treatment value of ADD in Japan by considering the characteristics of the disease. Areas covered: We performed literature searches and a group interview with professional care workers to obtain information on the items that would facilitate the assessment of the value of ADD intervention. We determined the items as patient quality of life (QOL), medical costs, caregiver QOL, public long-term care costs, and informal care costs. Expert opinion: There are several limitations to how QOL is measured, particularly for patients with ADD. Public long-term care costs represent a substantial proportion of total costs and should be included in the assessment and decision-making of ADD, even from the payer’s perspective. Following that, a process is required to take informal care costs into account in decision-making, regardless of whether they are included or not in a base-case analysis. The importance of other elements of care burden that cannot be quantitatively measured should also be recognized and reflected in decision-making.