New technology and health care costs--the case of robot-assisted surgery.

Technological innovation in health care is an important driver of cost growth. Doctors and patients often embrace new modes of treatment before their merits and weaknesses are fully understood. These technologies can lead to increases in costs, either because they are simply more expensive than previous treatments or because their introduction leads to an expansion in the types and numbers of patients treated. We examined these patterns as they apply to the case of robot-assisted surgery. Robotic surgical devices allow a surgeon at a console to operate remote-controlled robotic arms, which may facilitate the performance of laparoscopic procedures. Laparoscopic surgery, . . .