Adjusting for Inflation and Higher Surgery Costs in a Cost-Effectiveness Study of Spinal Surgery
Authors: Anna N.A. Tosteson
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2009)

Letters5 May 2009Adjusting for Inflation and Higher Surgery Costs in a Cost-Effectiveness Study of Spinal SurgeryAnna N.A. Tosteson, ScD, James N. Weinstein, DO, MS, and Jonathan S. Skinner, PhDAnna N.A. Tosteson, ScDFrom Dartmouth Medical School, Hanover, NH 03756, and Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH 03755.Search for more papers by this author, James N. Weinstein, DO, MSFrom Dartmouth Medical School, Hanover, NH 03756, and Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH 03755.Search for more papers by this author, and Jonathan S. Skinner, PhDFrom Dartmouth Medical School, Hanover, NH 03756, and Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH 03755.Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-150-9-200905050-00018 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail IN RESPONSE:We thank Drs. Shusterman and Erder for their comments, which highlight both the challenges inherent in using any single threshold as a benchmark for ascribing value to health care interventions and the pitfalls in adjusting for inflation and converting between currencies. If one first adjusts for the inflation of Canadian dollars from mid-1990 to mid-2004 (an adjustment of 1.319 [1]), then the “costly” $100 000 threshold (2) becomes $131 900. Converting between 2004 Canadian and U.S. dollars (1.322 Canadian dollars per U.S. dollar as of 1 July 2004 [3]), one achieves a value of $131 900/1.322 = $99 773, or approximately $100 000 ...References1. Bank of Canada. Inflation Calculator. Accessed at www.bankofcanada.ca/en/rates/inflation_calc.html on 24 February 2009. Google Scholar2. Laupacis A, Feeny D, Detsky AS, Tugwell PX. How attractive does a new technology have to be to warrant adoption and utilization? Tentative guidelines for using clinical and economic evaluations. CMAJ. 1992;146:473-81. [PMID: 1306034] MedlineGoogle Scholar3. St. Louis Federal Reserve. Canada/U.S. Foreign Exchange Rate. Accessed at research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/data/EXCAUS.txt on 24 February 2009. Google Scholar4. Cummins J, Lurie JD, Tosteson TD, Hanscom B, Abdu WA, Birkmeyer NJ, et al. Descriptive epidemiology and prior healthcare utilization of patients in the Spine Patient Outcomes Research Trial's (SPORT) three observational cohorts: disc herniation, spinal stenosis, and degenerative spondylolisthesis. Spine. 2006;31:806-14. [PMID: 16582855] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAuthors: Anna N.A. Tosteson, ScD; James N. Weinstein, DO, MS; Jonathan S. Skinner, PhDAffiliations: From Dartmouth Medical School, Hanover, NH 03756, and Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH 03755.Disclosures: None disclosed. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsSee AlsoSurgical Treatment of Spinal Stenosis with and without Degenerative Spondylolisthesis: Cost-Effectiveness after 2 Years Anna N.A. Tosteson , Jon D. Lurie , Tor D. Tosteson , Jonathan S. Skinner , Harry Herkowitz , Todd Albert , Scott D. Boden , Keith Bridwell , Michael Longley , Gunnar B. Andersson , Emily A. Blood , Margaret R. Grove , and James N. Weinstein , for the SPORT Investigators* Adjusting for Inflation and Higher Surgery Costs in a Cost-Effectiveness Study of Spinal Surgery Neil H. Shusterman and Haim Erder Adjusting for Inflation and Higher Surgery Costs in a Cost-Effectiveness Study of Spinal Surgery Dominic J. Balestra Metrics 5 May 2009Volume 150, Issue 9 Page: 652-653 Keywords Conflicts of interest Health care Health statistics Medicare Quality adjusted life years Spine Sports Surgery ePublished: 5 May 2009 Issue Published: 5 May 2009 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 2009 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF downloadLoading ...