title: Costing bias in economic evaluations.
abstract: Determining the cost-effectiveness of healthcare interventions is key to the decision-making process in healthcare. Cost comparisons are used to demonstrate the economic value of treatment options, to evaluate the impact on the insurer budget, and are often used as a key criterion in treatment comparison and comparative effectiveness; however, little guidance is available to researchers for establishing the costing of clinical events and resource utilization. Different costing methods exist, and the choice of underlying assumptions appears to have a significant impact on the results of the costing analysis. This editorial describes the importance of the choice of the costing technique and it's potential impact on the relative cost of treatment options. This editorial also calls for a more efficient approach to healthcare intervention costing in order to ensure the use of consistent costing in the decision-making process.
authors: a a Data 4 Actions, Health Economics , Quebec , Canada.
authors: Julie
authors: J
authors: Frappier
authors: b b Eisai, Global Health Economics and Health Technology Assessment , Woodcliff Lake , New Jersey , USA.
authors: Gabriel
authors: G
authors: Tremblay
authors: c c Transluscency Ltd., Outcomes Research , Worcester , UK.
authors: Mark
authors: M
authors: Charny
authors: d d Department of Management & Technology , University of Quebec at Montreal , Montreal , Quebec , Canada.
authors: L Martin
authors: LM
authors: Cloutier
mesh_terms: D015982:Bias; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards*; D003657:Decision Making; D017408:Guidelines as Topic; D006801:Humans; D017059:Models, Econometric
keywords: Bias; Costing; Economic evaluations; Guidelines