Posters

The economy of our femto-phaco laser

Poster Details

First Author: J.Förster GERMANY

Co Author(s):    T. Herbst              

Abstract Details

Purpose:

After nearly 3 years of offering the femto-laser assisted cataract surgery we examined the economy of the device. Regarding the high investition costs of the new technology it is examined if it was a profitable investment. Additional to the investition costs all direct und indirect costs of the laser are part of the analysis.

Setting:

All cases with femto-phako-procedure with extra-payment by the patients from january 2013 up to december 2015 are part of the analysis. All surgeries were done at the nordBLICK eye-hospital bellevue in Kiel, Germany.

Methods:

In consecutive months of the examined period all revenues and costs of the Lensar Laser are listed. Revenues are only calculated when the patients paid an extra charge for the procedure, so that study patients or some rare patients with no extra-payment are not registered. On the cost site all direct costs in each month are listet. In addition we tried to identify and assess all indirect costs, for example a longer operation time. For every month of the examination period there is a result for the economy of the laser. Also the break-even-point of the investition is calculated.

Results:

Until Ocotober 2015 there were 1178 cases in the analysis. 65% of the patients decided to get a monofocal IOL. The 35% of premium IOL's are divided up in 7% bifocal an 28% trifocal IOL's. Every patient paid an extra charge for the procedure with the LensAR - Laser System of € 1.450,-. The costs of the laser are divided in direct and indirect costs. The direct costs added up to € 362,55 in each case, the indirect costs per month summed up to € 9.288,-.

Conclusions:

With our data the Lensar Laser after three years is profitable. From the beginning we made a new product out of the femto-phaco assisted cataract surgery that we called RELACS. With an accompanied marketing we set a high-price strategie and tried to establish the product without any rebate system or comparable discharges. In this consequence we had ony 34 cases in average per month. But these number of cases at the high price level is enough to have a good profitability of the laser device. Exact number will be shown in the paper. FINANCIAL DISCLOUSRE: NONE