Transnasal Endoscope Cuts Costs, Says FP

Using an instrument that hit the market a few years ago -- the ultraslim transnasal endoscope -- to perform upper gastrointestinal endoscopies "will obviate a lot of the expense associated with office endoscopy in the past," says FP Edward Zurad, M.D., of Tunkhannock, Pa.

"Transnasal endoscopy can be completed at the patient's first visit, with no sedation, no IVs, no extra personnel, at very little cost to the family physician, and it can provide the same level of reimbursement as the traditional upper GI endoscopy," says Zurad. "And you can give the patients immediate access to the results because they're conscious during the procedure and able to grasp the data and understand it. They can watch the video monitor and look at the findings in real time."

The cost of an ultraslim transnasal endoscope ranges from $14,000 to $18,000, which is in line with the cost of endoscopes inserted orally, Zurad says. "If an individual or group does from two to five upper GI endoscopies per week, the cost of the ultraslim instrument could easily be paid for over the course of six to nine months."