Average cost for anesthesia systems rises as hospitals seek more-advanced units

The average cost of anesthesia systems went up 28% in July because of an increase in the number of hospitals buying higher-acuity systems, according to the Modern Healthcare/ECRI Institute Technology Price Index.

The index looks at monthly and yearly price data for 30 supply and capital items purchased by hospitals and other healthcare providers, based on three-month rolling averages.

Anesthesia systems on average cost about $53,900, with the most basic models costing $25,000 and the price of the most expensive systems reaching $85,000, said Kevin Lee, an analyst in ECRI's healthcare technology advisory service. The average cost of the units rose 32% over the past year.

Higher-acuity models, which are more sophisticated and allow healthcare providers to treat sicker patients, have an average cost of $66,000, while standard acuity models have an average price of $38,000. So more purchases of the higher cost systems are a major contributor to the July increase.

Approximately 64% of ECRI's member hospitals that purchased new anesthesia systems in 2014 chose higher acuity models. The systems are purchased every 10 years or so. “You get the higher acuity systems so you can treat sicker patients when you run into them,” said Brad Bonnette, senior project officer of health devices for ECRI.

Another factor that may be contributing to the overall price increases is that some purchases bundle monitors and units. That occurs about 15% of the time. A monitor costs $20,000.

GE Healthcare and Dräger, based in Lubeck, Germany, are the primary suppliers of anesthesia systems in the U.S. Dräger has said it plans to launch a new anesthesia system this month. That system, Bonnette said, may help anesthesiologists use less anesthetic agent, which can improve the safety profile and reduce costs.

Follow Jaimy Lee on Twitter: @MHjlee