title: Cost accounting for end-of-life care: recommendations to the field by the Cost Accounting Workgroup.
abstract: Accurate measurement of economic costs is prerequisite to progress in improving the care delivered to Americans during the last stage of life. The Robert Wood Johnson Excellence in End-of-Life Care national program assembled a Cost Accounting Workgroup to identify accurate and meaningful methods to measure palliative and end-of-life health care use and costs. Eight key issues were identified: (1) planning the cost analysis; (2) identifying the perspective for cost analysis; (3) describing the end-of-life care program; (4) identifying the appropriate comparison group; (5) defining the period of care to be studied; (6) identifying the units of health care services; (7) assigning monetary values to health care service units; and (8) calculating costs. Economic principles of cost measurement and cost measurement issues encountered by practitioners were reviewed and incorporated into a set of recommendations.
authors.affiliation: Bureau of Business and Economic Research, University of Montana, Missoula, Montana, USA.
authors.forename: Stephen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Seninger
authors.forename: Dean G
authors.initials: DG
authors.lastname: Smith
mesh_terms: D000066:Accounting; D003365:Costs and Cost Analysis / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D013727:Terminal Care / Q000191:economics*; D014481:United States