High-tech medical equipment is partially to blame for rising healthcare costs, doctors said.But one of the Island’s leading insurers issued a reminder that a complex range of factors are driving the increasing expense of healthcare in Bermuda.Optometrist Royland Samms of Atlantic Vision Care told The Royal Gazette: “Patients are increasingly aware of and demand the benefits of cutting-edge technology in diagnostics, medical procedures, treatments and devices. This, unfortunately, comes at great cost.“In my experience, acquiring each new generation of technology increases in cost at a rate that is usually above inflation. This cost eventually gets passed on to patients.”Dr Samms added that many technologies, particularly those that allow detailed imaging, were “invaluable” for making diagnoses quicker and more accurate.“There is a clear benefit to the patient which may result in long-term saving by preventing even more costly care down the road,” he said.“However, it is still the short-term escalation in cost that is of immediate concern.”He spoke in the wake of stark new warnings from the Bermuda Health Council that immediate cost-containment measures would have to be taken to curtail the Island’s health bill.“Medical instruments are still fully dutiable which obviously increases costs further,” he noted.In his industry, an ageing population means a constant rise in eye-related health problems.Increased diabetes and hypertension also compound vision problems, he said.“Updates in laws to require accepting assignment of payment for professional fees has meant a significant increase in administrative overhead for us, as we were not part of the system before,” Dr Samms said.The practice where he works has incurred a “silent cost” in work hours for billing and collection as a result.“This cost is significant yet and will increase overall costs further. This seems to be an unintended consequence of an otherwise laudable plan to spare patients the burden of upfront payments.”Kianna Simmons, immediate past President of the Bermuda Dental Board, said reluctance to get regular check-ups was a “major driving force” of costs in dental care — and “probably medically too”.With more prevention, she said, “we would see healthcare costs shifting”.“Unfortunately, a lot of people don’t go to the doctor unless they’re sick,” she said. “That’s a problem across medicine.”She said overuse of testing also drove up costs.“We do have a lot of private practitioners who have in-house resources they can use, which can drive up costs. Part of it is simply because we have access to testing and it’s easy to do. But it may not always be necessary.”Meanwhile, BF&M vice President Holly Flook said that no country could pinpoint any “solitary driver of per-capita healthcare cost”.Insurers, she said, advocate “first assessing the cost and benefit of any planned action, then putting in place the proper infrastructure to support alterations in care delivery, and finally synergising multiple activities aimed at cost containment.”Methods for reining in costs included modifying how healthcare is used, she said, as well as preventive care and providing the appropriate level of treatment in the right environment.“Bermuda is not the only country grappling with this challenge and there is not a single, right answer. The issues we face are surely complex and far reaching.”