Healthcare resource utilization following ECG sensor patch screening for atrial fibrillation.

Background: Screening for asymptomatic, undiagnosed atrial fibrillation (AF) has the potential to allow earlier treatment, possibly resulting in prevention of strokes, but also to increase medical resource utilization.

Objective: To compare healthcare utilization rates during the year following initiation of screening among participants screened for AF by electrocardiogram (ECG) sensor patch compared with a matched observational control group.

Methods: A total of 1718 participants recruited from a health care plan based on age and comorbidities who were screened with an ECG patch (actively monitored group) as part of a prospective, pragmatic research trial were matched by age, sex, and CHADS-VASc score with 3371 members from the same health plan (observational control group). Healthcare utilization, including visits, prescriptions, procedures, and diagnoses, during the 1 year following screening was compared between the groups using health plan claims data.

Results: Overall, the actively monitored group had significantly higher rates of cardiology visits (adjusted incidence rate ratio [aIRR] [95% confidence interval (CI)]: 1.43 [1.27, 1.60]), no difference in primary care provider visits (aIRR [95% CI]: 1.0 [0.95, 1.05]), but lower rates of emergency department (ED) visits and hospitalizations (aIRR [95% CI]: 0.80 [0.69, 0.92]) compared with controls. Among those with newly diagnosed AF, the reduction in ED visits and hospitalizations was even greater (aIRR [95% CI]: 0.27 [0.17, 0.43]).

Conclusion: AF screening in an asymptomatic, moderate-risk population with an ECG patch was associated with an increase in cardiology outpatient visits but also significantly lower rates of ED visits and hospitalizations over the 1 year following screening.