Echosens Announces Acceptance of Actuarial Study in American Journal of Managed Care: Positive Return on Investment of VCTE/CAP FibroScan Technology to Measure Liver Fat and Stiffness

Echosens, a high-technology company offering the FibroScan family of products, announces acceptance of its article for publication of the findings of an independent assessment conducted by Santa Barbara Actuaries Inc. (SBA) to evaluate from the payer's perspective the cost effectiveness of deploying VCTE / CAP machines (FibroScan®) for detecting and monitoring fatty liver disease (FLD). Scheduled for publication in 2021 by the American Journal of Managed Care, the report, "Population-Based Return on Investment of Deploying Transient Elastography Screening and Monitoring Fatty Liver Disease," concluded that early identification of patients with FLD through broad placement of VCTE/CAP devices offers cost savings to payers.

Mazen Noureddin, M.D., director, Fatty Liver Program, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, and the study's lead author, says, "This study is important to every stakeholder in the healthcare ecosystem. The data is extremely valuable in helping providers, benefits decision-makers and payers understand how a point of care examination can improve the quality of specialist referrals, thus reducing waste from unnecessary and often invasive testing. Given the global liver disease epidemic, implementing programs in point of care with cost-effective and efficient technology can provide an accurate, cohesive and first-line approach to assessing and managing patients at risk of liver damage."

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) affects between 30% and 40% of Americans, with significant associated health care and financial burdens of liver disease that currently demand payer attention and management. The study's scenario testing demonstrated positive net savings within two to three years after device deployment. Across a five-year timespan, researchers estimate net savings up to $2.64 per member per month (PMPM) for Medicare payers and up to $1.91 PMPM for commercial payers.

Jon Gingrich, CEO, Echosens North America, says, "We look forward to publication of this article which articulates the economic value of FibroScan to provide a non-invasive, rapid and painless examination that is covered under commercial, Medicare and Medicaid. By empowering healthcare providers throughout the country and worldwide with an accurate tool to measure liver fat and stiffness, this innovative technology allows for earlier identification and management of people living with asymptomatic NAFLD. This is significant since NAFLD is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease and an estimated 17.3 million with non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) who may be at greater risk of developing cirrhosis and liver cancer ? high cost centers for all payers."

About Echosens

Echosens, the developer of FibroScan^®, is an innovative high-technology company offering a full range of products and services supporting physicians in their assessment and management of patients with chronic liver diseases. FibroScan is supported by over 2,500 peer-reviewed publications and examinations are covered by Medicare, Medicaid and many insurance plans. For more information, please visit http://www.echosens.us.