Current Medical Economic Problems Associated with Laparoscopicassisted Colectomies

The treatment results and NHI(National Health Insurance)scores of 7 cases that underwent LAC(LaparoscopicAssisted colectomy)were compared with those obtained for 3 1 cases of OC(open colectomy)in order to assess any associated problems.　The treatment re‑ sults indicate that LAC is less invasive while allowing for an early discharge(2 7.2 days vs. 1 8.3 days) .　LAC has a low total NHI score and a high daily NHI score thus yielding a reduced eco‑ nomic burden for patients and a more effective use of hospital beds.　However a large number of disposable devices that cannot be claimed by the Japanese insurance system were also used in LAC(￥3 2 31 6 6 vs. ￥479 8 6) which is economically inefficient for hospital management. There‑ fore a further revision of the Japanese NHI system and lower costs such as obtaining high vol‑ ume discounts are desirable.