Objective:

To investigate healthcare utilization and costs in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients pre- to post-initiation of biologic agents in Taiwan from 1996 to 2017.

Approach:

Key Findings:

• RA patients have higher medical expenditures compared to non-RA patients.
• The introduction of biologics has led to increased drug costs but decreased overall healthcare costs due to fewer emergency visits and hospitalizations.
• Previous studies focused mainly on TNF inhibitors, with limited data on other biologics and tofacitinib.

Interpretation:

The study provides insights into healthcare resource utilization and costs associated with various biologic treatments for RA in Taiwan.

Limitations:

• Exclusion of patients treated with Rituximab, limiting the generalizability of findings.
• Focus on a single-payer system may not reflect costs in other healthcare settings, potentially affecting the applicability of the results.

Conclusion:

The study provides a detailed analysis of healthcare utilization and costs associated with different biologic treatments for RA.

Source

Based on findings from:

Healthcare utilization and costs in patients with rheumatoid arthritis using biologics or tofacitinib: a nationwide, population-based study

Yen-Ju Chen, Wei-Li Ho, Hsian-Min Chen, Yi-Ming Chen, Hsin-Hua Chen. Clinical Rheumatology, 2026.

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10067-026-08185-w

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This content is an AI-generated, fully rewritten summary based on a published scholarly article. It does not reproduce the original text and is not a substitute for the original publication. Readers are encouraged to consult the source for full context, data, and methodology.