A primary-care cohort suggested favorable cost and quality-of-life results after benzodiazepine discontinuation, without demonstrating randomized economic savings.
What the source reports
Of 333 participants in Spain’s BenzoStopJuntos program, 45.6% had discontinued at six months. Mean measured healthcare costs were lower in discontinuers, but the cost difference was not statistically significant. Estimated quality-adjusted life years were higher, and adjusted primary-care emergency visits were less frequent. Other service-use categories did not clearly differ.
Limits and uncertainty
Patients who successfully discontinued may differ in health, support and motivation. Utilities were derived from questionnaire data, and costs reflected a particular public-payer setting and tariff year. Six months cannot capture all long-term costs, withdrawal difficulties or later relapse. Favorable model quadrants do not eliminate observational uncertainty.
Implications for forensic review
For an economic opinion, state the perspective, time horizon and uncertainty around each component. Do not present the average cost difference as guaranteed savings or use these findings to support abrupt cessation. The study addresses a structured program and follow-up status, rather than every method of stopping benzodiazepines.
Source and related reading
Source reviewed: Cost utility analysis of benzodiazepine deprescription in primary care a cohort study (PMC13014827). Forensic applications above are interpretive analysis of the supplied paper.
Related reading: Patients and Prescribers Reported Different Barriers to Benzodiazepine Deprescribing.
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