Financial Sustainability of Neuromodulation for Pain

Abstract

When considering the financial sustainability of neuromodulation for pain, one needs to consider the varying costs involved with this therapy. These include comparisons between different types of neuromodulation, comparisons between neuromodulation and conventional therapy, and comparisons between neuromodulation and other invasive modalities. In addition, any consideration of cost also needs to take quality into account. Even if a therapy is expensive, it can be considered cost-effective if it leads to significant increase in quality of life and economic productivity of the patient. This review considers these questions, methodologies used to assess them, and variations between different health delivery systems.

Keywords: Cost effectiveness; Financial sustainability; ICER; Markov analysis; Neuromodulation; Pain; QALY.