Defining the Value of MRI-Assisted Radiosurgery (MARS) for Prostate Brachytherapy: A Pilot Study Using Time-Driven Activity-Based Costing

A value-based bundled payment system may help reduce costs and improve outcomes. In this context, the use of an advanced imaging technology such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) needs to be evaluated for its cost-effectiveness over the entire care cycle. Although outcome is a well-studied area of clinical focus, defining healthcare cost and value remains under-investigated. In this work, we utilized a time-driven activity-based costing (TDABC) analysis to compare the cost of a clinical workflow for a traditional CT/ultrasound(US)-based prostate brachytherapy (PB) with that of an innovative and optimized MRI-assisted Radiosurgery (MARS).