Estimating Cost for the Treatment of Hearth Attack Using the Cost-Frontier Function (Estimation Du Coût De Traitement De La Crise Cardiaque À Partir De La Fonction De Coût-Frontière)

Abstract

Do new technologies for treating acute myocardial infarction (AMI) contribute to increasing costs? To answer this question adequately, one must take into account not only the costs incurred, but also the costs associated with new technology. The two techniques examined are angioplasty (the new treatment) and coronary bypass (the traditional treatment). The objective of this study is to estimate the costs of these two treatments based on the best production techniques using the cost-frontier approach. Thus, the difference in the costs between the two interventions takes into account that a learning existed when angioplasty was introduced. The empirical approaches do not take into account these different levels of efficiency in existing Canadian studies. We used data from the Ontario Case Costing Initiative for the period from 1999 to 2001. These micro-level cost data measure actual cost of procedures or interventions for each discharge in some Ontario hospitals. The cost for each treatment represents the dependent variable while the explanatory variables are the demographic and clinical characteristics of the patient, as well as time. Our preliminary results indicate that the average cost per case for angioplasty is around two times lower than that for coronary bypass. In addition, the curve exists for both treatments, but is steeper for angioplasty. These results suggest that potential economies could be realized by replacing more coronary bypasses with angioplasties.