Project Spotlight Calculator Instructions
Overview
This tool was developed to help facilitate cost comparisons between SMBG and CGM/FGM usage within certain patient populations. The tool is pre populated with values that were observed in a 1-year study using the IBM® MarketScan database. A user may choose to utilize some of the default values but should consider researching relevant costs related to SMBG and CGM/FGM for their population of diabetics.
The tool is divided into four sections, the instructions will be grouped for each of the four sections.
Upfront Cost
In this section of the tool you will be inputting the upfront costs related to the SMBG and CGM/FGM devices.
Reader Device Cost: Input the average cost of the SMBG reader and the CGM/FGM Reader. If the SMBG reader is part of a starter or combo pack, please use zeros for the cost of the lancing device below. In the event that there is not a CGM/FGM reader necessary or utilized by the cohort, please use zero for that cost.
Lifetime: Input the lifetime of each device. Either use the default or replace it with data observed in your cohort.
Lancing Device Cost: Input the average cost of the lancing device. If one is included in the cost of the Reader, enter zero here.
Cost of Sensor
In this section we will input the costs that are related to CGM/FGM testing. The sensor related costs only apply to CGM/FGM and are intended to apply to a number of products and applications thus you may want to input zeros in some fields that don’t apply to your cohort.
Sensor Usage: Input the average number of weeks that the cohort uses sensors per year. This field will be used to calculate the total annual sensor cost. In addition, it is assumed that patients will continue to test with SMBG during the weeks that they do not use a sensor at the same testing frequency as the SMBG cohort (default value of 1.1 tests/day).
Maximum usage per sensor: Input the maximum number of days that each sensor can be used. If you observe that sensors do not last the maximum number of days indicated, you can either enter the observed average number of days or utilize the Incomplete Usage field below to offset the sensor lifespan.
Incomplete Usage: This field is used to account for the percentage of sensors that are replaced prior to their maximum usage. For example, if a sensor is indicated for up to 14 days of consecutive use however it is observed that patients are replacing sensors on average every 12 days a value of ~14% would be entered.
Cost per Sensor: This field is for the average cost per sensor. It is recommended that you use the same cost basis as the Upfront Costs. If you are using net prices or average net price please continue to use that basis for this field.
Transmitter Cost: This field is for the average cost per transmitter is applicable. If you do not wish to include transmitters in the calculation, enter a zero for cost.
Cost of SMBG
In this section we will input the costs and frequencies that are related to SMBG testing.
Lancet Cost: This field is for the average cost per lancet. The default value is the observed value from the MarketScan data. It is recommended that an average is calculated for your cohort based on the prices of available lancets.
Lancet Lifetime: This field is for the number of tests that each lancet was used. The default value is one test per lancet; however observation has shown that in some cohorts the same lancet is used for more than one test.
Cost per Strip: This field is for the average cost per blood glucose strip. It is recommended that an average is calculated for your cohort based on the prices of available strips.
Frequency: There are two fields, one for SMBG testing and one for CGM/FGM testing. These fields are for the average number of SMBG tests per day per patient. It was observed in the MarketScan data that the median testing for the SMBG cohort was 1.1 tests per day and for the CGM/FGM cohort it was 0.8 test per day. It is recommended that an average is calculated for your cohort based on strip utilization.
Total Cost
In this section we will determine the number of years and number of diabetics that you would like to forecast costs for as well as to capture and other costs that are relevant for your cohort.
Calculation Cycle: This field is for the number of years that you want to forecast costs. Note that the upfront costs are applied in year one of the calculator so it is not recommended that you forecast for more years than the lifespan of the upfront items like meters and readers.
Patients: This field is to capture the number of diabetics in your cohort.
Other Costs: These two fields are to capture any incremental costs that you have observed in your cohort. An example could be increased specialist cost related to the use of CGM/FGM.
Results
Once you have input all of the fields with valid values, the results will be automatically populated in real time. The Total Costs for SMBG and CGM/FGM will show you the calculated total costs(based on the number of years and patients that you entered). Based on your inputs, the cost of one blood glucose testing solution may be higher or lower than another.