While patients undergoing radiation chemotherapy for advanced head and neck cancer in inpatient and outpatient settings experienced the same clinical outcomes, outpatients saw much lower costs, according to research by the Cleveland Clinic presented at the 2014 Multidisciplinary Head and Neck Symposium.
Although clinical outcomes were similar between the two study groups, the inpatient total cost per patient was approximately $18,000 more than the outpatient cost per patient.
Based on the study results, the Cleveland Clinic now recommends an outpatient radiation regime as the standard course of care for advanced head and neck cancers.
"Measuring the outcomes and cost of the two treatment regimens for a full cycle of care enabled us to change our practice pattern by appropriately reducing cost without sacrificing tumor outcomes," said John Greskovich Jr., MD, radiation oncologist at Cleveland Clinic and lead author of the study, in a news release.
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