Costing in Radiotherapy. Chapter 18

The available literature on the cost of radiotherapy yields a large variation in data related to the specifics of the methodology used (the viewpoint of the analysis, time frame, health care system, etc.) and to the cost components and radiotherapy activities included. To overcome this difficulty, the reimbursement paid by medical insurance is commonly used as a proxy for the actual radiotherapy costs. Costs, however, generally bear little or no resemblance to charges, as the latter also include allowances for non-capacity use and profit margins. Accurate resource cost data are therefore more valid and should ideally be used in the context of economic evaluations and public health provisions. In addition to the theoretical problems related to obtaining accurate costs, it is difficult to interpret cost data across country borders because of differences in economics. If this is already the case for high income countries, using these cost data for low and middle income countries (LMICs) is even more problematic. Thus, there clearly is a need for calculations performed from the viewpoint of LMICs to prevent misapprehensions based on conclusions derived from data from their high income counterparts. The IAEA endeavours to assist Member States in accumulating appropriate and sufficient cost data for the initiation or expansion of radiation oncology services. Although relatively simple and easy to understand, the IAEA has found that in many countries where it has been involved in the establishment of new radiotherapy departments, the basic principles of cost calculation for radiotherapy facilities were not followed by the local planners. Radiotherapy needs careful planning, organization and a strong quality assurance (QA) programme in order to deliver safe treatments, due to the complexity of the planning and treatment process and the possibility of systematic errors. Administrators should be aware that the cost of building a radiotherapy facility and buying machines represents only part of the total cost involved in running the department over a period of ten years. Training of personnel, salaries, maintenance and amortization can represent three times the initial investment in that period. But even when including all these costs, radiotherapy is a relatively inexpensive treatment modality, which can, as discussed later, be extremely cost effective.