[From traditional film-based radiology to digital imaging: a simplified model for costing radiology services in small and medium-sized radiology units]
Vesala H H, Sintonen H, Hartikainen K
Record ID 32001000084
English, Finnish
Original Title:
Perinteisestä filmikuvantamisesta digitaalikuvantamiseen
Authors' objectives:
This report presents digitalisation and archiving models suitable for primary health care centres and considers the costs of various options. The report also introduces a simplified model for costing radiology services in small and medium-sized radiology units, and features examples of how to calculate the costs of traditional and digital radiology services in six types of primary health care centres. In the model, primary health care centres are made commensurable, unit costs for each type of examination are calculated, and the total productivity and aggregate level of the unit costs of each primary health care centre are estimated. Finally, the application of the costing model is extended to cover costs which incur with digitalisation and archiving of images in a whole hospital district.
Authors' recommendations:
The examples presented show that digital radiology carries higher costs than traditional film-based radiology in all of the municipalities used as examples. However, the cost difference between digital and traditional radiology shrinks with an increasing number of examinations performed, and disappears when the number of yearly examinations reaches 15,000. When the primary health care centres are made commensurable, the calculations reveal significant differences in the unit costs of the different forms of examinations as well as differences in the total productivity and aggregate level of the unit costs of the centres.
The costs of digital radiology are largely dependent on the prices of digital scanners, which are still expensive. Therefore, the advent of reasonably priced apparatuses that directly generate digital images will totally change the economic considerations.
Authors' methods:
Overview
Details
Project Status:
Completed
Year Published:
2001
English language abstract:
An English language summary is available
Publication Type:
Not Assigned
Country:
Finland
MeSH Terms
- Diagnostic Imaging
- Image Processing, Computer-Assisted
- Primary Health Care
- Radiology
Contact
Organisation Name:
Finnish Coordinating Center for Health Technology Assessment
Contact Address:
Finnish Office for Health Care Technology Assessment (Finohta)
Contact Name:
.
Contact Email:
fincchta@ppshp.fi
Copyright:
Finnish Office for Health Care Technology Assessment