Purpose: To assess the cost of pediatric cataract surgery in a tertiary eye care hospital from a provider's perspective.
Methods: Retrospective review of direct costs incurred for pediatric cataract surgery for the financial year April 1, 2018, to March 31, 2019. The cost analysis was done by standard costing methods. The fixed cost included the cost of land, buildings, construction, maintenance, personnel, operation theater (OT), and Out patient department (OPD) equipment. The variable cost included the cost of consumables used during surgery. The indirect costs were not considered.
Results: The per-patient fixed facility cost was INR 1.52 ($0.02), maintenance cost was INR 39.06 ($0.55), OPD equipment and consultation were INR 19.64 ($0.28), OT equipment was INR 467.95 ($6.61), the cost for personnel was INR 5,300.33 ($74.92), and the cost of consumables varied between INR 16,418 ($314.44) and INR 22,313 ($397.76), with the choice of intraocular lenses (IOL) being the main determining factor. The net average cost for a pediatric cataract surgery varied between INR 22,246.50 ($ 314.44) and INR 28,141.50 ($ 397.76).
Conclusion: Pediatric cataract surgeries are cost-intensive. High-volume surgeries and an increase in the number of patients in OPD reduce the fixed facility cost. But there is an overall increase in human resource (HR) and consumable cost owing to economic and technological reforms. However, the impact of operating a child, thereby, increasing his/her blindness-free years probably outweighs the cost and justifies it. High patient inflow, increased number of surgeries, and bulk purchase of consumables help in decreasing the cost.
Keywords: Childhood blindness; cost analysis; cost of cataract; pediatric cataract.