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Objectives

Atrial Fibrillation (AFib), an irregular heartbeat, increases risk for heart-related complications. Guidelines recommend antiarrhythmic drugs (AADs) to address AFib symptoms; however, their long-term use increases adverse event (AE) risks. Thus, a budget impact model (BIM) was developed evaluating the replacement of other AADs with dronedarone from a US payer perspective.

Methods

Using an incident-based approach over a 5-year time horizon, a BIM was developed in a hypothetical plan of 1,000,000 members, assuming 4.6% annual growth rate for incident AFib and 89% of patients treated by AADs within one year of diagnosis. Drug, administration, discount, copay, and AE-related costs were calculated and compared between dronedarone, individual AADs (amiodarone, sotalol, flecainide, propafenone, dofetilide), and a composite of AADs. Drug, administration, and AE costs were obtained from …