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Study: Pricey Surgery Robots Lack Clear Benefits
As robots march into operating rooms across the nation, some doctors are getting worried that patients might not be better off with the costly machines.
In the latest study to cast doubt on the technology, researchers found similar complication rates among women treated for endometrial cancer whether or not surgeons got help from a robot.
Yet robotic surgery costs about $1,300 more than the low-tech approach, called laparoscopy, in addition to the upfront cost to the hospital of the machine itself.
"Robotic surgery is clearly associated with higher costs, without any clear advantages," Dr. Jason Wright, a gynecologic surgeon at Columbia University in New York, told Reuters Health.
In a report in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, he and his colleagues say millions of dollars could be saved by switching from robotic surgery to traditional laparoscopy, adding that official regulation might be needed.
"Surgeons need to keep in mind all of the modalities that are available to them," said Wright. "The newer, more technologically advanced ones aren't always better."
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Sources: OBR Daily; Reuters
Examining Low-Value Cancer Care Trends Amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic
April 25th 2024On this episode of Managed Care Cast, we're talking with the authors of a study published in the April 2024 issue of The American Journal of Managed Care® about their findings on the rates of low-value cancer care services throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Community Engagement, Culturally Tailored Care as a Gateway to Advancing Health Equity
October 16th 2024Many talks at the Association of Cancer Care Centers (ACCC) 41st National Oncology Conference advocated for the adoption of culturally relevant care, the leveraging of community partnerships, and community engagement to build better trust with patients and improve outcomes.
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Oncology Onward: A Conversation With Penn Medicine's Dr Justin Bekelman
December 19th 2023Justin Bekelman, MD, director of the Penn Center for Cancer Care Innovation, sat with our hosts Emeline Aviki, MD, MBA, and Stephen Schleicher, MD, MBA, for our final episode of 2023 to discuss the importance of collaboration between academic medicine and community oncology and testing innovative cancer care delivery in these settings.
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Creating Equitable Cancer Care for Americans of Asian and Pacific Islander Heritage
October 15th 2024Naoto T. Ueno, MD, PhD, FACP, of the University of Hawai’I Cancer Center outlines the underrepresentation in clinical trials, the lack of permanent medical oncologists, and issues of trust affecting care for the populations living in Hawaii.
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