title: The cost of radiotherapy in a decade of technology evolution.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To quantify changes in radiotherapy costs occurring in a decade of medical-technological evolution.
  
  
  METHODS
  The activity-based costing (ABC) model of the University Hospitals Leuven (UHL) radiotherapy (RT) department was adapted to current RT standards. It allocated actual resource costs to the treatments based on the departmental work-flow and patient mix in 2009. A benchmark with the former model analyzed the cost increases related to changes in RT infrastructure and practice over 10 years.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A considerable increase in total RT costs was observed, resulting from higher capital investments (96%) and personnel cost (103%), the latter dominating the total picture. Treatment delivery remains the most costly activity, boosted by the cost of improved quality assurance (QA), 23% of total product costs, coming along with more advanced RT techniques. Hence, cost increases at the product level are most obvious for complex treatments, such as intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT), representing cost increases ranging between 38% and 88% compared to conformal approaches.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The ABC model provides insight into the financial consequences of evolving technology and practice. Such data are a mandatory first step in our strive to prove RT cost-effectiveness and thus support optimal reimbursement and provision of radiotherapy departments.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, University Hospitals Gasthuisberg, Leuven, Belgium.
authors.forename: Evelyn
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Van de Werf
authors.forename: Jan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Verstraete
authors.forename: Yolande
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Lievens
mesh_terms: D000066:Accounting / Q000379:methods; D000465:Algorithms; D019985:Benchmarking; D003361:Cost Allocation / Q000379:methods; D003365:Costs and Cost Analysis; D004059:Diffusion of Innovation; D006801:Humans; D018803:Models, Economic; D018787:Radiation Oncology / Q000191:economics / Q000639:trends; D011878:Radiotherapy / Q000191:economics* / Q000639:trends