July 24, 2013
The Question
Despite a growing volume of surgical procedures in low-income and middle-income countries, the costs of these procedures are not well understood. We estimated the costs of 12 surgical procedures commonly conducted in five different types of hospitals in India from the provider perspective, using a microcosting method.
What we found
Costs of conducting lower section caesarean section ranged from rupees 2469 to 41?087; hysterectomy rupees 4124 to 57?622 and appendectomy rupees 2421 to 3616 (US$1=rupees 52). We computed the costs of conducting lap and open cholecystectomy (rupees 27?732 and 44?142, respectively); hernia repair (rupees 13?204); external fixation (rupees 8406); intestinal obstruction (rupees 6406); amputation (rupees 5158); coronary artery bypass graft (rupees 177?141); craniotomy (rupees 75?982) and functional endoscopic sinus surgery (rupees 53?398).
Why it matters
Estimated costs are roughly comparable with rates of reimbursement provided by the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY)India’s government-financed health insurance scheme that covers 32.4 million poor families. Results from this type of study can be used to set and revise the reimbursement rates.
