Study highlights cost savings, health benefits of NIV

LAFAYETTE, La. - Non-invasive ventilation helps COPD patients live longer and saves Medicare money, according to a new study from VieMed and KPMG.

For the study, “CRF/COPD 4-year CMS Data Comparison of Mortality & Cost, (2013-2016),” KPMG analyzed four years of data from CMS and VieMed, a provider of post-acute respiratory services, to compare the costs and benefits of commonly prescribed respiratory assist devices. Patients using NIV at home with a high-touch care model have the lowest overall costs and hospitalization rates, it found.

Specifically, the study examined results of untreated patients who used no respiratory device at home, patients using a bi-level positive airway pressure device (BiPAP), and patients using an NIV device.

Only 22% of COPD patients with chronic respiratory failure using NIV died, compared to 38% of untreated patients, the study found.

Other findings:

. Patients with no ventilation support cost CMS $41,000

. Patients using a BiPAP cost $39,000

. Patients using NIV coupled with a high-touch care model cost $29,000

. 25% of untreated patients were admitted to a hospital

. 26% of patients using a BiPAP were admitted to a hospital

. Less than 20% of patients using NIV and receiving high-touch care model were admitted to the hospital.

“The KPMG study is one of the most important studies of this issue to date,” said Dr. William Frazier, chief medical officer for VieMed, which commissioned the study. “It should help physicians and others make informed decisions about the best approach to treating patients suffering from COPD.”