Health resource utilization and costs during the first 90 days following robot-assisted hysterectomy

To compare health resource utilization, costs and readmission rates between robot-assisted and non-robot-assisted hysterectomy during the 90 days following surgery.

The study used 2008–2012 Truven Health MarketScan data. All patients admitted as inpatients with a CPT code for hysterectomy between January 2008 and September 2012 were identified and the first hysterectomy-related admission in each patient was included. Patients were categorized based on the route of their hysterectomy and the use of laparoscopy as: total abdominal hysterectomy, vaginal hysterectomy (VH), laparoscopy-assisted supracervical hysterectomy, laparoscopy-assisted vaginal hysterectomy’ and total laparoscopic hysterectomy (TLH). Hospitalization costs, including hospital, physician, pharmacy and facility costs, were calculated for the index admissions and for the 90-day follow-up periods. Health resource utilization was determined in terms of inpatient readmissions, outpatient visits, and emergency room visits,

There were 302,923 hysterectomies performed over 5 years for benign indications in the inpatient setting (55% abdominal, 17% vaginal, and 28% laparoscopic). Concurrent use of robot assistance steadily increased and was reported in 50% of TLH procedures in 2012. The rates of readmission overall were 4.9% for robot-assisted procedures and 4.3% for procedures without robot assistance (OR 0.89, CI 0.82–0.97). Readmission rates were lowest for VH (3.2%) and highest for TLH (5.6%). Following robot-assisted hysterectomy and VH, 8.3% and 4.6% of patients, respectively, had more than ten outpatient visits in the 90-day follow-up period. The average total cost for 90 days was $16,820 for robot-assisted hysterectomy and $13,031 for procedures without robot assistance. Of the additional costs for robot-assisted surgery, 25% were incurred in the 90-day follow-up period.

The study using private insurance data found that robot-assisted hysterectomy was associated with higher health resource utilization and costs than other minimally invasive approaches. Given the high costs associated with robot-assisted hysterectomy, it is important to understand the specific indications for this approach and to identify the patients who may benefit.