| The cost of radiotherapy in a decade of technology evolution. | |
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MedLine Citation:
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PMID: 21872955 Owner: NLM Status: Publisher |
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
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PURPOSE: To quantify changes in radiotherapy costs occurring in a decade of medical-technological evolution. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The activity-based costing (ABC) model of the University Hospitals Leuven (UHL) radiotherapy (RT) department was adapted to current RT standards. It allocated actual resource costs to the treatments based on the departmental work-flow and patient mix in 2009. A benchmark with the former model analyzed the cost increases related to changes in RT infrastructure and practice over 10years. RESULTS: A considerable increase in total RT costs was observed, resulting from higher capital investments (96%) and personnel cost (103%), the latter dominating the total picture. Treatment delivery remains the most costly activity, boosted by the cost of improved quality assurance (QA), 23% of total product costs, coming along with more advanced RT techniques. Hence, cost increases at the product level are most obvious for complex treatments, such as intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT), representing cost increases ranging between 38% and 88% compared to conformal approaches. CONCLUSIONS: The ABC model provides insight into the financial consequences of evolving technology and practice. Such data are a mandatory first step in our strive to prove RT cost-effectiveness and thus support optimal reimbursement and provision of radiotherapy departments. |
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Authors:
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Evelyn Van de Werf; Jan Verstraete; Yolande Lievens |
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Publication Detail:
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Type: JOURNAL ARTICLE Date: 2011-8-26 |
Journal Detail:
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Title: Radiotherapy and oncology : journal of the European Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology Volume: - ISSN: 1879-0887 ISO Abbreviation: - Publication Date: 2011 Aug |
Date Detail:
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Created Date: 2011-8-29 Completed Date: - Revised Date: - |
Medline Journal Info:
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Nlm Unique ID: 8407192 Medline TA: Radiother Oncol Country: - |
Other Details:
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Languages: ENG Pagination: - Citation Subset: - |
Copyright Information:
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Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved. |
Affiliation:
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Department of Radiation Oncology, University Hospitals Gasthuisberg, Leuven, Belgium; Department of Radiation Oncology, Limburgs Oncologisch Centrum, Genk, Belgium. |
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From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine
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