Problem: Cepheid’s Xpert® CT/NG test is a high performance point-of-care test for chlamydia and gonorrhoea, and offers a promising advance in the diagnosis and control of two common sexually transmitted infections. When the test was launched in 2013, Cepheid wanted to understand how sexual health clinics in England might use it and to develop evidence comparing its costs and benefits to standard laboratory tests.

Approach: We approached the challenge in two projects. For the first, we defined the current patient pathways for chlamydia and gonorrhoea testing treatment and compared them to what they would be if a rapid POCT was used. We held workshops with staff in four sexual health clinics, asking them to map out the current patient pathways for chlamydia and gonorrhoea diagnosis and treatment. We then helped them brainstorm ways in which their services might include a point-of-care chlamydia and gonorrhoea test, and describe how this would change their patient pathways. Finally, we used Dots, our cloud-based pathway builder tool, build to estimate the costs of the pathways. The work indicated that the pathways could be streamlined with a point-of-care test, and we estimated that this would cost less to deliver than current practice.

For the second project, we developed an economic model to compare the overall costs and benefits of a point-of-care test to standard care. We combined the results of our first project with previous work our team had conducted on chlamydia and gonorrhoea testing and management. The model showed that the test could deliver £10million in cost savings, and give far more effective management of chlamydia and gonorrhoea at a population level. Our results were published in Sexually Transmitted Infections, and have been presented at national and international conferences.

Impact: Our work gave Cepheid the empirical evidence to demonstrate the value and potential impact of adopting their test in clinics. Since our projects, Cepheid has had increasing interest in the test, and several centres have purchased it. This includes a major London sexual health clinic which has introduced a new testing service as a result.

 

Testimonial

“I started working with Aquarius in 2012. Elisabeth and her team have always delivered great results, including 2 peer-reviewed publications, that add real value and insight, and they come up with creative ways to answer our questions. I enjoy collaborating with them and look forward to continuing our work on a range of disease areas in the future.”

• Dr. Anne Postulka, Senior Director Medical & Economic Value, Cepheid

 

Related publications

Adams EJ, Ehrlich A, Turner KME, et al. Mapping patient pathways and estimating resource use for point of care versus standard testing and treatment of chlamydia and gonorrhoea in genitourinary medicine clinics in the UK. BMJ Open 2014;4: e005322. doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2014-005322

Turner KME, Round J, Horner PJ, et. al. What are the clinical and economic costs and benefits of implementing point of care NAAT tests for Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae in genitourinary medicine clinics in England? Sex Transm Infect. Published online 22 Nov 2013: doi:10.1136/sextrans-2013-051147

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