Cost-Effectiveness of Case Management in Primary Health Care: A Systematic Review

Purpose An ageing multimorbid population is putting immense pressure on health care systems. Case management is a popular approach to meet these challenges. It intends to guide individuals with complex medical needs in order to improve health service effectiveness and reduce cost. Evaluations on the effectiveness of different case management models exist. One recent example is the research project “RubiN”, funded by G-BA’s German Innovations Fund, which evaluates the implementation of case management for geriatric patients. However, no rigorous systematic review has yet synthesized recent studies on cost-effectiveness of case management. The aim of this systematic review is therefore to investigate the cost-effectiveness of case management and to assess if particular models of case management are cost effective.

Methods A systematic review will be performed in order to synthesize evidence concerning specific models of case management and the cost-effectiveness of such interventions in primary care. Different bibliographic databases will be searched using key blocks of terms “case management”, “effectiveness”, and “costs”. Two authors will independently review, assess and select identified articles according to the „Consensus on Health Economic Criteria checklist (CHEC‐list)”. Any discrepancies will be resolved by discussion. Hand searches of the reference lists of included papers will complete the database searches.

Results After evaluating study quality, case management models will be categorized into distinct typology of service delivery with distinct organizational and technological features. Cost-effectiveness estimates will be compared within and between distinct categories of case management.

Conclusions We aim to reflect on study quality and evidence on cost effectiveness of case management modalities.

Publication History

Article published online:
02 September 2021