Is there a health economic benefit to justify robot-assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy?
Proponents of RALP and those with vested interests often claim that it leads to shorter hospitalisation, faster return to work, and other benefits that justify the expense of the robot-assisted approach. However, these claims are usually unsubstantiated and are often limited by the great variation in health economies from one country to another. Scales et al demonstrated cost-equivalence of RALP with ORP based on 10 cases per week and cost superiority based on 14 cases per week in the United States [79]. However, this is purely an economic model, and achieving 14 cases per week on a single robot is unlikely in the majority of facilities. Although Burgess et al reported a 27% reduction in operative charges once the learning curve (>50 cases) had been overcome, RALP still remained considerably more expensive than ORP [80]. Steinberg et al generated an economic model to predict the cost of prolonged operative times during the learning curve based on a review of eight RALP series in which
Related Questions
- What if I have limited dental benefits available through my Federal Employee Health Benefit (FEHB) Plan? How does this affect my MetLife dental claims?
- Can we justify experiments on animals that have no obvious benefit to human health?
- What is the health benefit to my pet to switch to Science Diet® Natures Best®?
