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"The doctors in the emergency room did multiple tests including a CT scan and ultrasound" CT scan is expensive. Each scan (CT, ultrasound) is reviewed by a ra

"The doctors in the emergency room did multiple tests including a CT scan and ultrasound" CT scan is expensive. Each scan (CT, ultrasound) is reviewed by a radio-logical expert (i.e. doctor), plus taking up an ER bed for many hours, lab work, IV medications, etc... It adds up pretty quickly. I'd love to know how much this actually costs in say Canada, or the UK, and I don't mean to the patient (I know they wouldn't pay much if anything), but the actual cost on the system.

seanp2k2 9y ago
If going down this route, we must also ask why a CT scanner costs millions of dollars. Medical equipment costs are equally insane. Basically, the costs of everything in the medical field are greatly inflated because they can be.
- Balgair 9y ago
  FDA approval is very hard to obtain. And for good reason. For a 'simple' thing like an internal titanium staple to attach to bone, it'll be about 10 years before the 'go/no-go' decision from the FDA. All the effort could go up in smoke 10 years in. That's ~10 years of investments, rat tests, lab research and upkeep, human trials and long term surveillance, paying the engineers and accountants, etc. That investment has to be re-couped plus a profit for the trouble. The nice thing, though, is that once the medical-thingy is proofed, it is a near monopoly on it. So the re-coup is not bad. But the risk is pretty great. SV talks about risk and reward a lot, but they have nothing on bioengineering start-ups (that really do save lives and change the world).
lostlogin 9y ago
A CT scan in the middle of the night costs less than US$1000 and the ultrasound is about half that in New Zealand. That’s at a private facility with on call staff. At a public hospital where the staff are on a shift it would be considerably less.
DanBC 9y ago
That information is available here, I think: https://improvement.nhs.uk/resources/national-tariff-1719/ https://improvement.nhs.uk/resources/national-tariff-1719/ This workbook has a sheet for A&E treatment. https://improvement.nhs.uk/uploads/documents/Copy_of_Annex_A_-_National_tariff_workbook.xlsx https://improvement.nhs.uk/uploads/documents/Copy_of_Annex_A... A&E prices 2017/18 Return to contents Tariff (£) HRG code HRG name Type 1 and 2 Departments Type 3 Departments Emergency Medicine, Any Investigation with Category 5 Treatment 322 63 Emergency Medicine, Category 3 Investigation with Category 4 Treatment 293 63 Emergency Medicine, Category 3 Investigation with Category 1-3 Treatment 212 63 Emergency Medicine, Category 2 Investigation with Category 4 Treatment 192 63 Emergency Medicine, Category 2 Investigation with Category 3 Treatment 161 63 Emergency Medicine, Category 1 Investigation with Category 3-4 Treatment 113 63 Emergency Medicine, Category 2 Investigation with Category 2 Treatment 141 63 Emergency Medicine, Category 2 Investigation with Category 1 Treatment 130 63 Emergency Medicine, Category 1 Investigation with Category 1-2 Treatment 91 63 Emergency Medicine, Dental Care 82 63 Emergency Medicine, No Investigation with No Significant Treatment 63 63 Emergency Medicine, Patient Dead On Arrival 91 63 Prices in GBP.
- gricardo99 9y ago
  This is very interesting, thanks for sharing. Although this does list prices, it seems to me that these are mandated/set prices, and not necessarily reflective of the true cost of the care provided. Unless... these prices are set with the goal to reach at least a break-even on any care provided? I suppose the overall health system has to break-even, unless it's running a deficit, but I honestly have no idea how that corresponds to the listed prices. Apologies if I'm way off on this, I'm by no means an expert or have much experience/knowledge on this topic, but attempting to make some sense of it for comparison.

seanp2k2 9y ago

If going down this route, we must also ask why a CT scanner costs millions of dollars. Medical equipment costs are equally insane. Basically, the costs of everything in the medical field are greatly inflated because they can be.

Balgair 9y ago
FDA approval is very hard to obtain. And for good reason. For a 'simple' thing like an internal titanium staple to attach to bone, it'll be about 10 years before the 'go/no-go' decision from the FDA. All the effort could go up in smoke 10 years in. That's ~10 years of investments, rat tests, lab research and upkeep, human trials and long term surveillance, paying the engineers and accountants, etc. That investment has to be re-couped plus a profit for the trouble. The nice thing, though, is that once the medical-thingy is proofed, it is a near monopoly on it. So the re-coup is not bad. But the risk is pretty great. SV talks about risk and reward a lot, but they have nothing on bioengineering start-ups (that really do save lives and change the world).

lostlogin 9y ago

A CT scan in the middle of the night costs less than US$1000 and the ultrasound is about half that in New Zealand. That’s at a private facility with on call staff. At a public hospital where the staff are on a shift it would be considerably less.

DanBC 9y ago

That information is available here, I think: https://improvement.nhs.uk/resources/national-tariff-1719/ https://improvement.nhs.uk/resources/national-tariff-1719/ This workbook has a sheet for A&E treatment. https://improvement.nhs.uk/uploads/documents/Copy_of_Annex_A_-_National_tariff_workbook.xlsx https://improvement.nhs.uk/uploads/documents/Copy_of_Annex_A... A&E prices 2017/18 Return to contents Tariff (£) HRG code HRG name Type 1 and 2 Departments Type 3 Departments Emergency Medicine, Any Investigation with Category 5 Treatment 322 63 Emergency Medicine, Category 3 Investigation with Category 4 Treatment 293 63 Emergency Medicine, Category 3 Investigation with Category 1-3 Treatment 212 63 Emergency Medicine, Category 2 Investigation with Category 4 Treatment 192 63 Emergency Medicine, Category 2 Investigation with Category 3 Treatment 161 63 Emergency Medicine, Category 1 Investigation with Category 3-4 Treatment 113 63 Emergency Medicine, Category 2 Investigation with Category 2 Treatment 141 63 Emergency Medicine, Category 2 Investigation with Category 1 Treatment 130 63 Emergency Medicine, Category 1 Investigation with Category 1-2 Treatment 91 63 Emergency Medicine, Dental Care 82 63 Emergency Medicine, No Investigation with No Significant Treatment 63 63 Emergency Medicine, Patient Dead On Arrival 91 63 Prices in GBP.

gricardo99 9y ago
This is very interesting, thanks for sharing. Although this does list prices, it seems to me that these are mandated/set prices, and not necessarily reflective of the true cost of the care provided. Unless... these prices are set with the goal to reach at least a break-even on any care provided? I suppose the overall health system has to break-even, unless it's running a deficit, but I honestly have no idea how that corresponds to the listed prices. Apologies if I'm way off on this, I'm by no means an expert or have much experience/knowledge on this topic, but attempting to make some sense of it for comparison.