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KCE Reports 74 Hyperbaric Oxygenation Therapy 67
5.8.3 Transportation cost
As a general rule, outpatient transportation costs are to be paid by the patient. As an
exception, for radionecrosis patients having HBOT as part of their follow-up after
chemo- and radiotherapy, transportation costs may be reimbursed under public
regulations, following a Ministerial Decree of July 6, 1989, and modified by a ministerial
decree of May 25, 2007. d
Transportation costs (two-way) are then reimbursed according to public transports
travel expenses or at a rate of €0.25 per kilometre.
5.9 COST ANALYSIS FROM A HOSPITAL’S POINT OF VIEW
The aim of this analysis is to evaluate the cost of a hyperbaric oxygen session. The costs
included are both capital costs (the hyperbaric chamber investment) and operational
costs (personnel costs, maintenance costs, oxygen and compressed air, patient
consumables, and other overhead costs). Costs not included in this analysis are the pretreatment
consultation costs of the physician, hospitalization costs, and transportation
costs. Other costs for e.g. intensive care patients are also disregarded. We would like
to stress that this cost analysis is a theoretical calculation of costs. Further research to
gather more detailed real-world cost data is desirable.
5.9.1 Investment costs and expected lifetime of equipment
The investment price for multiplace chambers was obtained from Hytech, a supplier
from the Netherlands, which only sells multiplace chambers but no monoplace
chambers. We also received price information from ETC, an international supplier
(headquartered in the US), however, given the higher shipping costs, we preferred to
use the price information from the Dutch company. For monoplace chambers, we used
price information from ETC and an indicative market price from Hytech. Table 15
shows the average cost and ranges which were used in our cost analysis. To check
these numbers, the obtained multiplace chamber price data was compared with figures
we received from two Belgian hospitals. Their investment cost, adjusted for inflation,
showed comparable figures. For monoplace chambers, Treweek et al. 133 (2006)
calculated a price of £102 000 (or about €144 000) for the chamber and the oxygen
recirculation system. This cost falls within our price range.
Table 15. Investment cost
Investment cost (VAT incl.)*
Range (€) Average (€) Lifetime
Multiplace chamber 12 persons 750 000 – 850 000 800 000 25 ys +
Multiplace chamber 6 persons 660 000 – 760 000 710 000 25 ys +
Monoplace chamber 115 000 – 165 000 140 000 10 ys +
VAT: value-added tax
* Including shipping and installation costs
According to the vendors of hyperbaric chambers, the expected lifetime of a multiplace
chamber is 25 to 30 years or even more. Today, there are examples of multiplace
chambers that were built more than 30 years ago and that are still in use. According to
the manufacturers, multiplace chambers would have a more extended lifetime than
monoplace chambers.
d MB tot wijziging van het MB van 6 juli 1989 tot vaststelling van de tegemoetkoming van de verplichte
ziekte- en invaliditeitsverzekering en van de toekenningsvoorwaarden voor die tegemoetkoming in de
reiskosten van ambulant behandelde patiënten aangetast door ziekten die hetzij een chemotherapeutische
behandeling bij middel van geneesmiddelen behorend tot de categorie A, hetzij een behandeling met
stralingen vergen.
AM du 6 juillet 1989 fixant l'intervention de l'assurance obligatoire contre la maladie et l'invalidité et les
conditions d'octroi de cette intervention dans les frais de voyage des patients traités ambulatoirement
atteints de pathologies nécessitant soit un traitement chimiothérapique au moyen d'une médication de la
catégorie A, soit un traitement par radiations.