Cost Analysis of InMotion Robotic Therapy Utilized in the
Veterans Affairs Healthcare System
GREATER BENEFIT
LOWER COST.
COST TO THE VA HEALTHCARE SYSTEM
Average per patient additional cost of therapy
Robot Therapy: US $5,152
ICT: US $7,382
Usual Care: US $0
Average total cost over 36 weeks (therapy + all other healthcare utilization)
Robot Therapy: US $17,831 (other healthcare $12,679)
ICT: US $19,746 (other healthcare $12,364)
Usual Care: US $19,098 (other healthcare $19,098)
Study published in the American Heart Association
“An Economic Analysis of Robot-Assisted Therapy for Long-Term Upper-Limb Impairment After Stroke”
Conclusion: ”The added cost of delivering robot or intensive comparison therapy was recuperated by lower healthcare use costs compared with those in the usual care group”
Discussion: ”The use of robotic technology for stroke rehabilitation is a rapidly growing area. The VA ROBOTICS study demonstrated modest clinical benefit for robot-assisted therapy compared with usual care at 36 weeks.
Although providing additional care using new technology can be expensive, the total costs, which include therapy and healthcare costs, were not greater for the robot group than the usual care group. Patients in the robot and intensive comparison groups had lower average costs than patients in usual care group.
From a healthcare system perspective, this suggests an offset in the system, which will require studies with larger samples to fully understand.”
