A cost analysis of a tele-oncology practice

Abstract
Costs were monitored for three different types of oncology practice: a telemedicine clinic and a fly-in outreach clinic, both held in rural areas, and a traditional clinic held in a city hospital. Total expenses were calculated over the year May 1995 to April 1996. The average cost per telemedicine visit was $812. The average cost per out reach clinic visit was $897. Flying in oncology support for this practice was therefore about 10% more costly than telemedicine. While the outreach cost may have been inappropriately high due to as low start-up phase, it was still less expensive during this period to be seen via telemedicine. For comparison, the average cost per traditional oncology clinic visit was $149. However, this figure does not take into account the costs of access to a city-based service by rural patients.

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  • Introduction
    Published by Cambridge University Press (CUP) ,1995