Premium
Procedural costs of digital vs. analog archiving of diagnostic cardiac catheterizations
Author(s) -
Oetgen Matthew E.,
New Gishel,
Moussa Issam,
Balter Stephen,
Collins Michael,
Iyer Sriram,
Roubin Gary,
Colombo Antonio,
Moses Jeffrey W.
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
catheterization and cardiovascular interventions
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.988
H-Index - 116
eISSN - 1522-726X
pISSN - 1522-1946
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1522-726x(200003)49:3<246::aid-ccd3>3.0.co;2-3
Subject(s) - medicine , cardiac catheterization , right heart catheterization , cost analysis , pace , significant difference , medical physics , cardiology , hemodynamics , reliability engineering , geodesy , engineering , geography
The use of digital technology in the cardiac catheterization laboratory is expanding at a rapid pace. The cost‐effectiveness of this new technology is yet to be proven. The aims of this study were to determine the direct cost differences of digital versus analog media (CDs) for the storage of diagnostic cardiac catheterizations and to explore the factors influencing these differences. Procedural costs of all diagnostic angiograms (n = 109), from three physicians, performed in an analog catheterization laboratory (room A) and a digital catheterization laboratory (room C) were compared during a 9‐month period. The mean procedural cost was higher in room A than in room C ($1,102 vs. $1,087, P < 0.001). This cost difference was eliminated when recording media costs were excluded from analysis ($1,079 vs. $1,080, P = 0.931). Therefore, we conclude there is a procedural cost savings in a cardiac catheterization room that uses digital CDs versus cineangiogram film as the archival media. Cathet. Cardiovasc. Intervent. 49:246–250, 2000. © 2000 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.