Prison Study: PillCam ESO Reduces Cirrhotic Patient Costs

YOQNEAM, Israel — Leaders of Given Imaging Ltd. today announced data from a pilot study that they say shows the Company's PillCam® capsule for endoscopy of the esophagus can significantly reduce prison healthcare costs for cirrhotic patients.

In a pilot study conducted within the Georgia Department of Corrections (the first prison in the United States to receive accreditation by the American Medical Association for its healthcare delivery services, according to Given Imaging), PillCam ESO was used to evaluate five inmates with cirrhosis for varices, which were identified in two of them.

Healthcare savings were calculated based on the estimated expense for prisoner transfer to a site that performs upper endoscopy, and the standard charges for the EGD procedure compared with expenses for PillCam ESO capsule and remote interpretation of video results.

"Significant cost savings can be achieved when screening for varices within a prison population by bringing the PillCam ESO equipment and the procedure to the patient at the incarceration site where a trained nurse can administer the test and a physician can then remotely interpret results," said Robert Schade, MD, professor of medicine and chief of gastroenterology at Medical College of Georgia.

Study co-author, Iryna Hepburn, MD, noted, "This screening method, combined with remote interpretation, may provide a useful tool for providing expert interpretation of GI disorders in remote or rural settings, where patients have limited access to specialist care."

The PillCam ESO 2 capsule can deliver an estimated 90 percent savings equal to $4,200 per patient in prison healthcare costs compared to travel and treatment costs involved in an upper endoscopy, according to a Given Imaging press release.

Esophageal varices (enlarged veins) can occur as a complication of cirrhosis and/or fibrosis of the liver. As liver cirrhosis advances, blood is restricted from flowing through the liver, which can cause esophageal veins to enlarge.

It's vital to check for the initial appearance of these enlarged veins, or varices, and then to monitor for any increase in size. Roughly one-fourth of these varices eventually start to bleed and 10 percent to 20 percent of patients die within six weeks of the bleeding episode. The prevalence of liver disease among prisoners is high.