The European journal of health economics : HEPAC : health economics in prevention and care
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Iron deficiency is common in pregnancy, postpartum, inflammatory bowel disease, chronic kidney disease, chronic heart failure, heavy uterine bleeding, cancer and following surgery. We estimate the budget impact (BI) on the Swiss mandatory health insurance associated with substituting iron sucrose (standard) with ferric carboxymaltose (new treatment) using real-life data. ⋯ Treating iron deficiency involves substantial costs to the Swiss MHI which may be reduced by substituting iron sucrose with ferric carboxymaltose. The use of real-life data raises methodological questions about the fundamental compatibility of this data with the conceptual framework of BI analysis.