Increased healthcare utilization costs following initiation of insulin treatment in type 2 diabetes: A long-term follow-up in clinical practice.

Aims: To compare long-term changes in healthcare utilization and costs for type 2 diabetes patients before and after insulin initiation, as well as healthcare costs after insulin versus non-insulin anti-diabetic (NIAD) initiation.

Methods: Patients newly initiated on insulin (n=2823) were identified in primary health care records from 84 Swedish primary care centers, between 1999 to 2009. First, healthcare costs per patient were evaluated for primary care, hospitalizations and secondary outpatient care, before and up to seven years after insulin initiation.

Differences between hypothetical and experience-based value sets for EQ-5D used in Sweden: Implications for decision makers.

Aims: A number of value sets are available today for converting EQ-5D questionnaire responses to quality-adjusted life year-weights used in health economic evaluations. The aim of this study is to analyse the differences between the commonly used hypothetical UK value set and the newly introduced Swedish experience-based value set and to evaluate health economic implications of such differences on policy decisions.

Methods: Differences between the two value sets were studied using two methods: a comparison of health states and improvements as well as an empirical comparison.

Physician Preferences and Variations in Prescription of Biologic Drugs for Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Register-Based Study of 4,010 Patients in Sweden.

Objective: The prescription of biologic drugs for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients has varied considerably across different regions. Previous studies have shown physician preferences to be an important determinant in the decision to select biologic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (bDMARDs) rather than nonbiologic, synthetic DMARDs (sDMARDs) alone. The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that physician preferences are an important determinant for prescribing bDMARDs for RA patients in Sweden.

Factors influencing rheumatologists' prescription of biological treatment in rheumatoid arthritis: an interview study.

Background: The introduction of biological drugs involved a fundamental change in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The extent to which biological drugs are prescribed to RA patients in different regions in Sweden varies greatly. Previous research has indicated that differences in health care practice at the regional level might obscure differences at the individual level.

Costs of rheumatoid arthritis during the period 1990-2010: a register-based cost-of-illness study in Sweden.

Objectives: The objectives of this study were to analyse the total socio-economic impact of RA in Sweden during the period 1990-2010 and to analyse possible changes in costs during this period. The period was deliberately chosen to cover 10 years before and 10 years after the introduction of biologic drugs.

Methods: A prevalence-based cost-of-illness study was conducted based on data from national and regional registries.