[Cost analysis of a universal newborn hearing screening for clinics using the State of Hesse as an example]

Abstract

Background: The implementation of a universal newborn hearing screening (UNHS) in Germany in 2009 requires a realistic cost calculation for health insurance companies and participating clinics

Material and methods: Screening costs from 60 Hessian clinics were analyzed over 2.5 years whereby 94,203 children had been screened either with a 2-step (TEOAE, AABR) or a 1-step procedure (AABR).

Results: The TEOAE-AABR screening at EUR 13.16 per child was more cost-efficient. For a population with a high rate of at-risk babies a sole AABR device with screening costs of EUR 16.87 presents a more efficient alternative. High quality of screening performance and qualification of screening staff markedly reduced total cost. Overhead costs for tracking, quality assurance, control of completeness, and securing structural screening requirements, considered as essential screening costs, were calculated at EUR 4.00 per child. The total costs in Hesse would therefore be EUR 17.16 per child for TEOAE-AABR screening and EUR 20.87 per child for an AABR screening.

Conclusion: In a mixed calculation which can be cautiously extrapolated from the Hessian data for Germany as a whole, costs would be EUR 18.40 per registered child.