Standard cost lists for health economic evaluation in Thailand

Abstract

This analysis was undertaken to generate a set of standard costs for medical services and those incurred by patients receiving treatment, for use in health economic evaluations. Medical service unit cost data were derived from a survey of 3, 091 hospital medical services in five hospitals, disaggregated by type of hospital (district or provincial/regional) and analyzed using the relative value unit method. Patient-borne ambulatory cost values were derived from data gathered through 905 patient interviews that took place in six health centers, three district hospitals, and three provincial/regional hospitals. The survey gathered data on costs a rising from the distance travelled to access the medical service, the time spent in the healthcare facility, as well as travel and meal costs. The analysis generated a set of standard cost data for Thailand that will make conducting economic evaluations more accurate, faster, and more convenient, as well as allowing better comparability between studies. This is the first standard cost menu that has been developed specifically for Thailand, and as such should be revised and refined in the future. Some areas that would benefit from revision are suggested.