Economic evaluation of a Ninngen-dokku (medical checkup)

An economic evaluation of a medical checkup center (Ninngen-dokku, "human dry dock") was conducted from two perspectives: the cost for cancer checkup, and the cost for medical treatment after a diagnosis was obtained. We studied the cost of diagnosing cancer, compared with the cost required when cancer of an individual organ was detected through mass health testing, and studied the economics of a Ninngen-dokku according to Kawai's method of medical judgment. Assuming that the cost of death is more than the cost of saving the lives of persons who undergo the Ninngen-dokku, the Ninngen-dokku will be affordable. In the group undergoing the Ninngen-dokku compared with the group which did not, the estimated cost of medical treatment was reduced. The Ninngen-dokku carries advantages that cannot be quantified in financial terms; therefore, a multi-layered economic analysis of the Ninngen-dokku was required.