Pear Therapeutics’ reSET-O prescription digital therapeutic for opioid use disorder lowered healthcare costs and added quality life years post-treatment, according to a Pear-funded analysis published in the Journal of Market Access & Health Policy.

TOP-LINE DATA

Over 12 weeks, using reSET-O in addition to treatment as usual lowered costs by $1,014 and added 0.003 quality-adjusted life years compared with normal treatment alone. Treatment as usual was face-to-face counseling, buprenorphine and rewards for negative drug tests.

HOW IT WAS DONE

Researchers used a decision-analytic model to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of reSET-O from the perspective of a third-party payer over the course of 12 weeks, the length of one reSET-O prescription.

Clinical effectiveness data was pulled from a 2014 clinical trial, while economic input included the cost of the digital prescription therapeutic, medical costs from a cohort treated with reSET-O, costs for non-retained patients and the expense for buprenorphine. 

THE BACKGROUND

The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated an already serious opioid crisis. Drug overdose deaths rose to record-breaking numbers in 2020, and synthetic opioids were involved in a majority of those overdose deaths, according to a Commonwealth Fund analysis of CDC data. 

Meanwhile, most people who need substance abuse treatment don’t receive it. According to a 2019 report by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 21.6 million people ages 12 and older needed substance abuse treatment over the past year, but only 4.2 million received any.

Pear has funded other studies to test the cost-effectiveness of reSET-O. Last month, a study in Hospital Practice found patients who used the app along with buprenorphine and counseling lowered their healthcare costs by $2,385 per person in the six months after they started using the app, compared with the six months before.

IN CONCLUSION

Researchers said using a decision-analytic model can be valuable to help stakeholders make decisions, but the model does simplify the “complex factors involved in the clinical and economic outcomes of patients with OUD.”

They also noted a 12-week time span was limiting, since most people with opioid use disorder require a longer course of treatment. However, they also said many people struggling with opioid addiction don’t receive this much care, so there’s potential for even higher quality-of-life gains.

“reSET-O + TAU’s [treatment as usual] economic dominance (reduced costs, greater effectiveness) vs. TAU alone over 12 weeks was driven by a reduction in medical costs observed in a real-world claims analysis of reSET-O-treated patients,” researchers wrote.