2009-08-01
Cost comparison study of two different follow-up protocols after surgery for oesophageal cancer
Publication
Publication
European Journal of Cancer , Volume 45 - Issue 12 p. 2110- 2115
Background and aim Costs of follow-up strategies in patients after surgery for oesophageal cancer have not been evaluated. We therefore randomised 109 patients to standard outpatient clinic follow-up by a surgeon (n = 55) or home visits by a specialist nurse (n = 54) and compared costs between these two strategies. Method Cost comparisons included comprehensive data on hospital costs, diagnostic interventions and extramural care. Detailed information on health care consumption was obtained from a case record form at 6 weeks, and 3, 6, 9 and 12 months after randomisation. Results Total medical costs were lower for nurse-led follow-up (€2592 versus €3798) than standard follow-up, although this difference was not statistically significant (p = 0.11). This advantage in the nurse-led follow-up group was mainly due to lower costs for follow-up visits (€234 versus €503; p < 0.001), and a trend towards lower costs for total intramural care (€1477 versus €2277; p = 0.19). Conclusion Nurse-led follow-up of patients after oesophageal cancer surgery is likely to be cost effective and may even generate cost savings. The results of this study further support a specific role of nurses in the medical care of patients with malignant diseases.
Additional Metadata | |
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doi.org/10.1016/j.ejca.2009.03.021, hdl.handle.net/1765/16356 | |
European Journal of Cancer | |
Organisation | Erasmus MC: University Medical Center Rotterdam |
Polinder, S., Verschuur, E., Siersema, P., Kuipers, E., & Steyerberg, E. (2009). Cost comparison study of two different follow-up protocols after surgery for oesophageal cancer. European Journal of Cancer, 45(12), 2110–2115. doi:10.1016/j.ejca.2009.03.021 |