The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has judged Implanon® to be the most cost-effective of the long-acting reversible contraception (LARC) methods. Its cost-effectiveness enhances with increased duration of use. Gwent Sexual and Reproductive Health service provides unrestricted use of this contraceptive method. With the number of implants fitted growing annually, the service wanted to know how long clients kept their contraceptive implants in and the cost of implant provision. The study aimed to estimate the actual cost of providing long-acting reversible contraception.
The actual cost of providing Implanon was calculated in a cohort of 493 patients within a community-based sexual and reproductive health service compared to that predicted in the NICE Clinical Guideline 30 on LARC. The data was collected to estimate the actual cost of providing long-acting reversible contraception through clients who receive the service.
The yearly cost for the method (using Implanon) was £77.49, 25% lower than the estimate made by NICE, despite a shorter use of the technique.
The study concluded that this community-based sexual and reproductive health service’s actual cost might not be transferable to other settings such as general practice.
Reference: https://srh.bmj.com/content/35/2/75
