Cost-benefit of anatomo-pathological, cytological and of immunohistochemistry exams in a general hospital

Abstract

The exams in the area of pathology have presented a good solution and have provided security to the clinical oncologist for the treatment to patients. The immunohistochemistry has permitted to increase this safety and has offered larger possibilities of diagnoses, especially in cases of small biopsies or those of immature neoplasm and lymphomas. The immunohistochemistry has been useful to better detail the origin of some tumors, like breast tumor, the immature neoplasm in childhood and others. The cost of the exams is a great concern of the medical cooperatives and health operators. Objective: the purpose of this paper is to show that the exams of pathology area present smaller cost compared to those of clinical laboratory analysis and those of image. Method: the analyzed data provided by Unimed Sorocaba (a medical cooperative in Sorocaba, state of São Paulo, Brazil). The study has shown the absolute and perceptual increase of the cost of the clinical analysis laboratory exams, the image exams from 2009 and 2012; and has compared to the increase of the exams cost in pathology and immunohistochemistry. Results: the results have shown smaller cumulative costs in the pathology area exams, even discounting annual inflation rates. There has been still a comparison between the cost of breast cancer treatment and the immunohistochemistry cost, which has been used in its assessment.