Koo, Vanessa2025-01-292025-01-292025-01-292025-01-27https://hdl.handle.net/10012/21446Background: Pharmacists in Ontario, Canada are now able to prescribe for certain minor ailments. Minor ailments are defined as health conditions that can be managed with minimal treatment and/or self-care strategies. Economic evaluations with costs and burden associated with minor ailment conditions using Ontario health administrative data are needed to accurately evaluate the economic impact of the pharmacist prescribing for minor ailment (PPMA) program. Objectives: The objectives of this research thesis are to: 1) assess the baseline characteristics, mean health care costs, and predictors of health care costs of minor ailment cases using a retrospective analysis of Ontario health administrative data for patients presenting with minor ailment conditions and 2) perform a cost-minimization analysis to determine the economic impact of a remunerated program for PPMA compared with usual care. Methodology: First, using Ontario health administrative data from ICES, baseline characteristics, mean health care costs, and predictors of health care costs were determined for patients diagnosed with the 16 studied minor ailments. Second, a decision-analytic model was implemented to perform the cost-minimization analysis for the minor ailments. Two prescribing strategies were considered in this analysis: PPMA and usual care. In the PPMA strategy, patients have the option of either seeking care from a community pharmacist or a physician. In the usual care model, all patients seek care from physicians. Probabilities and costs used in the model were derived from mostly Ontario health administrative data, literature, or expert opinion when there was insufficient literature. This analysis used a public payer perspective and outcomes were expressed in costs in 2019 Canadian dollars. Results: Analysis of Ontario health administrative data from ICES identified that the minor ailments with the highest number of unique patients billed were musculoskeletal sprains and strains (8,099,393; 24%), gastroesophageal reflux disease (5,822,495; 17%), dermatitis (5,649,829; 17%), urinary tract infection (3,356,887; 10%), and insect bites and urticaria (2,699,684; 8%). Health care costs varied by minor ailment and cost category, with older age, lower income quintiles, urban residency, and comorbidities as predictors of higher total health care costs. Cost-minimization analyses from a public payer perspective provided evidence that implementing a PPMA program for the studied minor ailments could yield cost savings for the Ontario government compared to the usual care model, with savings ranging from $19.05 to $77.38 per patient. One-way sensitivity analyses showed that results were most sensitive to the likelihood of patients receiving care from a pharmacist rather than a physician. In probabilistic sensitivity analyses, the PPMA model proved cost-saving in 100% of the simulations for all 16 minor ailments studied. Conclusion: The results of the thesis research identified the baseline characteristics, health care cost burden, and predictors of total health care costs for patients presenting with minor ailments using Ontario health administrative data. In addition, the cost-minimization analyses conducted from a public payer perspective provided evidence that implementing a PPMA program provided cost-savings for the Ontario government when compared to the usual care model for the studied minor ailments. The results of this research can continue to help shape implementation strategies of a PPMA program in Ontario, Canada.enPHARMACY::Community pharmacy servicesminor ailmentscost minimization analysisMaster Thesis