[Highly specialized consultation for eating disorders: an explorative economic impact analysis].

BACKGROUND

Highly specialized consultation is a promising intervention for improving the treatment for mental disorders.

AIM: To model the impact of consultation for eating disorders (EDs).

METHOD: An explorative economic impact analysis was conducted in 2024-2025, utilizing data on patients who had been in treatment for more than two years within specialized secondary care for EDs as their primary diagnosis (anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder). These data were used to model the effects of consultation for EDs. Sensitivity analyses were performed to evaluate the robustness of the findings across different estimated parameter values.

RESULTS

Across all five care pathways, consultation for EDs was effective in: 1. reducing the burden of disease for patients, work absenteeism and direct mental healthcare costs and 2. enhancing the patient flow in mental healthcare.

CONCLUSION

Consultation for EDs is a potentially promising intervention with both clinical and systemic benefits. Therefore, the Centres of Excellence for Eating Disorders aim to further investigate and implement consultation for EDs, in order to make knowledge accessible and contribute to the provision of appropriate care for patients with EDs.