Table 3.
Cost and environmental impact of diagnostic imaging
| Imaging schedule | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3–6-Monthly Most frequent (n = 115) | 12-Monthly Intermediate (n = 273) | No routine least frequent (n = 165) | ||||
| Cost | Cost per patient-year (95% CI) |
Cost | Cost per patient-year (95% CI) |
Cost | Cost per patient-year (95% CI) |
|
| Health system costs, AUD | ||||||
| CT | $297,920 | $585 (582.5–586.7) | $756,554 | $463 (461.9–464.0) | $88,040 | $121 (120.4–122.0) |
| PET | $76,078 | $149 (148.2–150.4) | $118,660 | $73 (72.2–73.0) | $27,174 | $37 (37.0–37.9) |
| PET and CT | $86,200 | $169 (168.0–170.3) | $210,050 | $129 (127.0–129.1) | $83,227 | $115 (113.8–15.) |
| Ultrasound | $24,355 | $48 (47.2–48.4) | $130,201 | $80 (79.2–80.1) | $8068 | $11 (10.9–11.4) |
| X-Ray | $11,435 | $22 (22.0–22.9) | $6,321 | $4 (3.8–4.0) | $1176 | $2 (1.5–1.7) |
| MRI | $63,732 | $125 (124.1–126.0) | $31,572 | $19 (19.1–19.5) | $23,896 | $33 (32.5–33.3) |
| Total | $559,728 | $1098 (1095.4–1101.1) | $1,253,358 | $767 (765.6–768.3) | $231,581 | $319 (317.6–320.2) |
| Climate change impacts, kg CO2-e | ||||||
| Imaging testa | 34,975 | 69 (67.9–69.4) | 72,236 | 44 (43.9–44.5) | 17,706 | 24 (24.0–24.7) |
| Transportb | 80,456 | 158 (156.8–159.0) | 173,592 | 106 (105.7–106.7) | 18,317 | 25 (24.9–25.6) |
| Total | 115,431 | 226 (225.2–227.8) | 245,828 | 150 (149.8–151.0) | 36,023 | 50 (49.1–50.1) |
| Climate change impacts, AUDc | ||||||
| High CO2-e valuation | $26,549 | $52 (51.5–52.7) | $56,540 | $35 (34.3–34.9) | $8285 | $11 (11.2–11.6) |
| Central CO2-e valuation | $15,006 | $29 (29.0–29.9) | $31,958 | $20 (19.3–19.8) | $4683 | $6 (6.3–6.6) |
| Low CO2-e valuation | $10,389 | $20 (20.0–20.8) | $22,124 | $14 (13.4–13.7) | $3242 | $4 (4.3–4.6) |
Costs are reported to zero decimal places, and confidence internals are reported to one decimal place
AUD, Australian dollars; CI, confidence interval; CO2-e, carbon dioxide equivalent; SD, standard deviation
aAttributional climate change impact as reported by McAlister et al
bImpact of a return journey by car or a return flight between the relevant capital city and Sydney
cHigh valuation ($230 per tonne CO2-e); central valuation ($130 per tonne CO2-e); low valuation ($90 per tonne CO2-e)