title: Changes in the costs of treatment of selected illnesses, 1971-1981.
abstract: This study, like two earlier studies by the author, examines the effects of changing medical technologies on medical care costs by comparing the costs of treatment of a number of common illnesses at two points in time, 1971 and 1981. While the earlier studies, covering the periods 1951-1964 and 1964-1971, showed that the main cost-raising changes had been a steep rise in the use of relatively low-cost ancillary services, such as laboratory tests and x-rays ("little-ticket" technologies), this study shows that in the period 1971-1981 the use of these technologies hardly changed but that several new and expensive technologies ("big-ticket" technologies) came into use, which raised medical care costs considerably.
mesh_terms: D001064:Appendicitis / Q000191:economics; D006348:Cardiac Surgical Procedures / Q000191:economics; D002585:Cesarean Section / Q000191:economics; D019411:Clinical Laboratory Techniques / Q000191:economics; D003365:Costs and Cost Analysis / Q000639:trends*; D004562:Electrocardiography / Q000191:economics; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D013677:Medical Laboratory Science / Q000191:economics*; D010808:Physical Examination / Q000191:economics; D011859:Radiography / Q000191:economics; D011878:Radiotherapy / Q000191:economics; D013675:Technology, High-Cost; D014481:United States