Study on costs and benefits of new infection control information landscape
In the Netherlands, it became clear during the corona pandemic that the information provision for infectious disease control (IZB) was vulnerable. The crisis showed that the national IT systems needed improvement to better support the IZB and scale up faster in case of a new outbreak or pandemic. In this study, we analyse the social costs and benefits (SCBA) of plans to revamp the current information landscape and make it more future-proof.
Background
The new infection control information facility (called Programme IV IZB) will replace some of the current loose IT systems of RIVM, the GGD organisations and GGD GHOR Nederland with a pandemic-ready information landscape in which sub-systems work together seamlessly. This will improve infectious disease control during a new pandemic and make us better prepared.
Commissioned by the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport, Ecorys together with M&I/Partners and Vanberkel Professionals) conducted a social cost and benefit analysis (SCBA) of these plans. Through source research, expert sessions with infectious disease control experts and in-depth interviews, the research team calculated the costs and benefits of the Programme.
With an SCBA, we identify social costs and benefits of a project or policy. Thus, we provide insight into which social returns (benefits) will occur, who will receive the benefits and whether these are more or less than the costs required. The purpose of the SCBA for the IV IZB programme is therefore to provide prior insight into the magnitude and composition of the costs and of the benefits to society, including whether the benefits justify the costs to be incurred.
The costs and benefits were mapped for three situations: 1) the regular situation, 2) a supra-regional outbreak (such as the mpox outbreak), and 3) a pandemic (such as covid-19). The results and calculations were validated afterwards.
Key findings
Three main conclusions emerge from our research:
- The Programme IV IZB pays for itself socially and financially in the event of a new pandemic. The benefits include, for example, avoided IT costs and time savings at the various GGD organisations and GGD GHOR Nederland. We also expect a reduction in unnecessary quarantine time for citizens and an improvement in the timely availability of information, which is essential for making important decisions.
- Even without a pandemic or supra-regional outbreak, the Programme delivers societal benefits. It improves the quality of infectious disease control (IZB) by enabling healthcare professionals to work faster and giving RIVM real-time insight into the spread of a disease. This allows faster and more effective intervention in the event of impending outbreaks. Moreover, information on infectious diseases becomes less fragmented, preventing confusion among citizens, and the Programme improves data security, reducing the risk of data leaks.
- Without the Programme, many costs have to be incurred to keep the current systems running. Our cost analysis shows that the systems of the GGD organisations, GGD GHOR Nederland and RIVM are expensive because these systems were set up quickly, inefficiently and at high cost during the COVID period. In short, even without the Programme, the current IV remains costly, while at the same time we remain less prepared for a new pandemic or outbreak.
Want to know more? Then read our full report (in Dutch).
29 October 2024
3 minute read
Key Experts
Nicky Vulhop
Consultant
Tim van Doorn
Consultant
Walter Hulsker
Partner