Innovations are an essential part of healthcare and can improve the quality of healthcare for patients. However, innovations often enter the system at considerably higher costs. Despite the widespread diffusion of new technologies, the patient benefit in the form of improved outcomes compared to standard therapy is often unclear or unproven. One example is the Da Vinci surgical system. This robot-assisted surgical system is now being used in more than 100 hospitals in Germany to perform minimally invasive operations, for example in the field of urology, without any evidence of its effectiveness compared to laparoscopic and open procedures. Very few studies have looked at the relationship between the procedure used in the treatment and the outcomes or have carried out a cost-effectiveness analysis. In addition, there are no analyses of the influence of the availability of robot-assisted treatments on patients' choice of hospital. Thus, beyond the effectiveness analysis, the extent to which a supply-induced demand is created by the acquisition of the da Vinci surgical system can be investigated.
Prof. Dr. Alexander Geissler; Dr. David Kuklinski,Dr. Justus Vogel, PD Dr. Cornelia Henschke
Technical University of Berlin, WidO - Scientific Institute of the AOK
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since 2021