A cost-minimisation analysis of inpatient versus day surgery for gynaecological laparoscopy

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate whether medium-term hospital resource use differed between ambulatory and inpatient laparoscopy surgery for benign gynaecological conditions. Patient-based costing data were collected through a randomised controlled trial involving 26 inpatients and 40 day-surgery patients. The perspective was that of the hospital gynaecological ward. Day surgery was significantly cheaper per patient than was inpatient surgery, mainly due to shorter operation times and lower hotel costs. Remedial surgery had a higher total cost than did evaluative surgery, but patient age, referral source and diagnosis, and surgeon seniority had no significant impact. Based on previous findings that ambulatory and inpatient surgery result in equivalent clinical outcomes, day surgery for benign gynaecological laparoscopy is cheaper and thus should be preferred to inpatient surgery. © 2006 Springer-Verlag.