Direct cost of cochlear implants in Germany - a strategic simulation.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Despite the current undersupply of cochlear implants (CIs) with simultaneously increasing indication, CI implantation numbers in Germany still are at a relatively low level.

Methods

As there are hardly any solid forecasts available in the literature, we develop a System Dynamics model that forecasts the number and costs of CI implantations in adults for 40 years from a social health insurance (SHI) perspective.

Results

CI demand will grow marginally by demographic changes causing average annual costs of about 538 million €. Medical-technical progress with following relaxed indication criteria and patients' increasing willingness for implantation will increase implantation numbers significantly with average annual costs of 765 million €.

Conclusion

CI

SUBMITTER: Thum C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9789618 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature