Symptomatic hemorrhoid diagnosis and treatment costs the US over $2B per year. Even more startling is that 60% of this cost is associated with diagnosis without treatment, meaning many patients continue suffering for years, despite the availability of safe, definitive treatment options. Not only is this a burden on patients living with this bothersome condition but ignoring the root cause of hemorrhoid symptoms can result in unnecessary repeat visits or procedures to investigate symptoms such as rectal bleeding.
Drs. Harry Sarles and Mitchel Guttenplan have outlined an approach to reduce this economic burden, help their patients find relief, and ultimately provide value-based hemorrhoid care.
