Quantifying the direct cost benefits of vestibular telemetry using the CAVA system to diagnose the causes of dizziness

Abstract

Background: It can be challenging to diagnose the cause of a patient’s dizziness. Patients face significant delays before receiving a correct diagnosis as they will undergo many diagnostic tests under several different medical specialities. As well as prolonging the suffering of patients, these problems place a significant financial burden on health services worldwide. We have developed a wearable medical device which has the potential to diagnose the cause of a patient’s dizziness using vestibular telemetry captured over a thirty-day period. We sought to quantify the potential direct cost savings of an alternative diagnostic pathway using our diagnostic device. Methods: In this work, we identified the existing diagnostic pathways followed by patients reporting dizziness to their General Practitioner, and modelled the best and worst-case direct costs of providing a patient with a correct diagnosis. We estimated the potential cost of our alternative pathway, and calculated the cost savings this could provide to the NHS. Results: The results show that our alternative diagnostic pathway could reduce the time and direct cost associated with providing a correct diagnosis. We present a potential indicative cost-saving of between £631 and £1305, per patient. Conclusion: Our alternative diagnostic pathway would reduce the time taken to correctly diagnose patients with vertigo. This in turn would facilitate faster access to targeted treatments, reduce unnecessary interventions, and reduce the suffering of patients. These improvements would also lead to other savings, such as reducing the amount of sick leave taken by patients to attend appointments, and freeing up of NHS time to see other patients.