Traditionally neurosurgeons were able to provide treatment for their patients without regard to economics and cost-effectiveness. In many ways it was considered inappropriate for a doctor to think about the cost of treatment, and the impact of expensive treatments sometimes limited effectiveness on the economy. This is certainly one reason among many why the US spends 17% of its gross domestic product (GDP), or about $3.2 trillion, on health care. Although the US is leading the world in health care spending, this is not the case when one looks at health care outcomes. The goal of health care reform is to “bend the cost curve” and simultaneously improve outcomes.
Neurosurgeons have been leading this effort on the national, regional, and local levels. This has been proven again by the overwhelming response to our call for papers. The editors were challenged to review over 48 high-quality manuscripts and we would like to thank all the authors who submitted their important work. We were only able to include the following 16 articles and 3 editorials for publication. We hope that the work represents the best and will lead to further research into the high-value neurosurgical care that we provide for our patients.
Disclosures
The authors report no conflict of interest.
