Publications
Publications
- Journal of Comparative Effectiveness Research
Comparative Costs of Advanced Proton and Photon Radiation Therapies: Lessons from Time-driven Activity-based Costing in Head and Neck Cancer
By: Nikhil G. Thaker, Steven J. Frank and Thomas W. Feeley
Abstract
Time-driven activity-based costing (TDABC) is an innovative costing tool in healthcare that can be used to directly compare the true cost of competing technologies over the full care cycle. Rather than only comparing therapeutic effectiveness over a limited number of outcome measures, healthcare stakeholders will need to move toward comparing the value of care delivery and therefore the cost of therapies. Measuring the value of advanced technologies like proton beam therapy versus intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) is especially crucial, given the high upfront cost of developing, building, and delivering care with these modalities. An incomplete understanding of the value of costly, yet effective, technologies could impede medical innovation and decrease the quality of cancer care through a reduction of patient access by third-party payers. With TDABC, providers may begin to uncover clinical situations in which higher-cost, advanced therapies are actually justified over the full episodic care cycle. Understanding provider costs will become even more important as healthcare reform transitions to value-based purchasing.
Keywords
Head And Neck Cancer; IMRT; Proton Therapy; Time-Driven ABC; Technology; Activity Based Costing and Management; Medical Specialties
Citation
Thaker, Nikhil G., Steven J. Frank, and Thomas W. Feeley. "Comparative Costs of Advanced Proton and Photon Radiation Therapies: Lessons from Time-driven Activity-based Costing in Head and Neck Cancer." Journal of Comparative Effectiveness Research 4, no. 4 (2015): 297–301.