Economic Evaluation of Digital Health Interventions in Oncology

This technical report synthesizes existing evidence on the cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA) of digital health interventions (DHIs) in oncology. It outlines that conducting CEA for DHIs in oncology presents challenges due to varied patient profiles, cancer stages, treatment regimens, and uncertain outcomes. The report discusses the high costs associated with oncology treatments and emphasizes economic evaluations such as quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) and incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs) as tools to assess the financial implications of DHIs, which may enhance patient outcomes and decrease hospital stays. Evidence suggests that DHIs like telemedicine and mobile health applications can be cost-effective despite study heterogeneity complicating definitive conclusions. The document also identifies trends and research gaps, advocating for standardized CEAs across cancer populations and additional studies on DHIs for therapeutic purposes to support informed policy-making and broaden their application in oncology care.