Key result
Denying coronary bypass surgery to smokers increases overall state costs due to unemployment, sickness benefits, expensive medications, and repeated hospital admissions for chest pain.
Why the study?
Should smokers be offered coronary bypass surgery?
Should smokers be offered coronary bypass surgery?
Denying CABG to smokers may save surgical unit costs but shifts a larger financial and social burden to the state.
than the cost of operating.Patients not given opera- tions are unemployable, need sickness benefits, remain on multiple expensive medication, and require repeated hospital admissions for chest pains.Money is saved on the surgical units at the expense of the state.
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Roger Higgs (1993) studied this question. Denying coronary bypass surgery to smokers increases overall state costs due to unemployment, sickness benefits, expensive medications, and repeated hospital admissions for chest pain.
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