TY  - JOUR
AU  - Mitchell, Ellen Siobhan
AU  - Fabry, Alexander
AU  - Ho, Annabell Suh
AU  - May, Christine N
AU  - Baldwin, Matthew
AU  - Blanco, Paige
AU  - Smith, Kyle
AU  - Michaelides, Andreas
AU  - Shokoohi, Mostafa
AU  - West, Michael
AU  - Gotera, Kim
AU  - El Massad, Omnya
AU  - Zhou, Anna
PY  - 2023
DA  - 2023/8/24
TI  - The Impact of a Digital Weight Loss Intervention on Health Care Resource Utilization and Costs Compared Between Users and Nonusers With Overweight and Obesity: Retrospective Analysis Study
JO  - JMIR Mhealth Uhealth
SP  - e47473
VL  - 11
KW  - mobile health
KW  - mHealth
KW  - obesity
KW  - overweight
KW  - Noom Weight
KW  - digital weight loss intervention
KW  - health care resource utilization
KW  - costs
KW  - electronic health record
KW  - EHR
KW  - insurance claims
KW  - inverse probability of treatment weighting
KW  - IPTW
KW  - mobile phone
AB  - Background: The Noom Weight program is a smartphone-based weight management program that uses cognitive behavioral therapy techniques to motivate users to achieve weight loss through a comprehensive lifestyle intervention. Objective: This retrospective database analysis aimed to evaluate the impact of Noom Weight use on health care resource utilization (HRU) and health care costs among individuals with overweight and obesity. Methods: Electronic health record data, insurance claims data, and Noom Weight program data were used to conduct the analysis. The study included 43,047 Noom Weight users and 14,555 non–Noom Weight users aged between 18 and 80 years with a BMI of ≥25 kg/m² and residing in the United States. The index date was defined as the first day of a 3-month treatment window during which Noom Weight was used at least once per week on average. Inverse probability treatment weighting was used to balance sociodemographic covariates between the 2 cohorts. HRU and costs for inpatient visits, outpatient visits, telehealth visits, surgeries, and prescriptions were analyzed. Results: Within 12 months after the index date, Noom Weight users had less inpatient costs (mean difference [MD] −US $20.10, 95% CI −US $30.08 to −US $10.12), less outpatient costs (MD −US $124.33, 95% CI −US $159.76 to −US $88.89), less overall prescription costs (MD −US $313.82, 95% CI −US $565.42 to −US $62.21), and less overall health care costs (MD −US $450.39, 95% CI −US $706.28 to −US $194.50) per user than non–Noom Weight users. In terms of HRU, Noom Weight users had fewer inpatient visits (MD −0.03, 95% CI −0.04 to −0.03), fewer outpatient visits (MD −0.78, 95% CI −0.93 to −0.62), fewer surgeries (MD −0.01, 95% CI −0.01 to 0.00), and fewer prescriptions (MD −1.39, 95% CI −1.76 to −1.03) per user than non–Noom Weight users. Among a subset of individuals with 24-month follow-up data, Noom Weight users incurred lower overall prescription costs (MD −US $1139.52, 95% CI −US $1972.21 to −US $306.83) and lower overall health care costs (MD −US $1219.06, 95% CI −US $2061.56 to −US $376.55) per user than non–Noom Weight users. The key differences were associated with reduced prescription use. Conclusions: Noom Weight use is associated with lower HRU and costs than non–Noom Weight use, with potential cost savings of up to US $1219.06 per user at 24 months after the index date. These findings suggest that Noom Weight could be a cost-effective weight management program for individuals with overweight and obesity. This study provides valuable evidence for health care providers and payers in evaluating the potential benefits of digital weight loss interventions such as Noom Weight. 
SN  - 2291-5222
UR  - https://mhealth.jmir.org/2023/1/e47473
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2196/47473
UR  - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37616049
DO  - 10.2196/47473
ID  - info:doi/10.2196/47473
ER  -