Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Aug 11:10:787135.
doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2022.787135. eCollection 2022.

The cost-effectiveness of digital health interventions: A systematic review of the literature

Andrea Gentili  1 , Giovanna Failla  2 , Andriy Melnyk  1 , Valeria Puleo  1 , Gian Luca Di Tanna  3 , Walter Ricciardi  1 , Fidelia Cascini  1
Affiliations

The cost-effectiveness of digital health interventions: A systematic review of the literature

Andrea Gentili et al. Front Public Health. .

Abstract

Background: Digital health interventions have significant potential to improve safety, efficacy, and quality of care, reducing waste in healthcare costs. Despite these premises, the evidence regarding cost and effectiveness of digital tools in health is scarce and limited.

Objectives: The aim of this systematic review is to summarize the evidence on the cost-effectiveness of digital health interventions and to assess whether the studies meet the established quality criteria.

Methods: We queried PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science databases for articles in English published from January 1, 2016 to December 31, 2020 that performed economic evaluations of digital health technologies. The methodological rigorousness of studies was assessed with the Consolidated Health Economic Evaluation Reporting Standards (CHEERS). The review was conducted according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) 2009 checklist.

Results: Search identified 1,476 results, 552 of which were selected for abstract and 35 were included in this review. The studies were heterogeneous by country (mostly conducted in upper and upper-middle income countries), type of eHealth intervention, method of implementation, and reporting perspectives. The qualitative analysis identified the economic and effectiveness evaluation of six different types of interventions: (1) seventeen studies on new video-monitoring service systems; (2) five studies on text messaging interventions; (3) five studies on web platforms and digital health portals; (4) two studies on telephone support; (5) three studies on new mobile phone-based systems and applications; and (6) three studies on digital technologies and innovations.

Conclusion: Findings on cost-effectiveness of digital interventions showed a growing body of evidence and suggested a generally favorable effect in terms of costs and health outcomes. However, due to the heterogeneity across study methods, the comparison between interventions still remains difficult. Further research based on a standardized approach is needed in order to methodically analyze incremental cost-effectiveness ratios, costs, and health benefits.

Keywords: cost-effectiveness; digital care; digital health; electronic health; mobile health; telehealth; telemedicine.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
PRISMA statement flow diagram.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. WHO. mHealth, use of appropriate digital technologies for public health-Report by the Director-General. Exec Board, 142nd Sess provisional agenda item 44 EB142/20. (2017) 2015(November 2017):1–5. Available from: http://apps.who.int/gb/e/e_wha71.html (accessed March 1, 2021).
    1. Cascini F, Santaroni F, Lanzetti R, Failla G, Gentili A, Ricciardi W. Developing a data-driven approach in order to improve the safety and quality of patient care. Front Public Health. (2021) 9:667819. 10.3389/fpubh.2021.667819 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Cascini F, Hoxhaj I, Zaçe D, Ferranti M, Di Pietro ML, Boccia S, et al. . How health systems approached respiratory viral pandemics over time: a systematic review. BMJ Global Health. (2020). 10.1136/bmjgh-2020-003677 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Oh CW. South Korea, the Perfect Environment for Digital Health. Berlin: Nature Portfolio; (2020).
    1. Mendoza G, Okoko L, Konopka S, Jonas E. mHealth compendium. Afr Strateg Health Proj. (2013) 3:82. Available online at: http://www.africanstrategies4health.org/ (accessed March 1, 2021).

Publication types