Do Biologic Therapies for Rheumatoid Arthritis Offset Treatment-Related Resource Utilization and Cost? A Review of the Literature and an Instrumental Variable Analysis

Purpose of Review One justification for using expensive biologic therapy in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) has been that it can reduce future healthcare utilization such as joint surgeries and physician visits. However, the evidence to support this assertion is unclear. We conducted a review of the literature for studies which have analyzed the trends in resource use of RA patients, and then undertook a retrospective observational analysis of a Canadian administrative database using instrumental variable methods.