title: Approach to economic analysis in critical care.
abstract: There are 4 general economic analyses used in health care: cost minimization, cost-benefit, cost-effectiveness, and cost utility. In this review, we provide an overview of each of these analyses and examine their appropriateness and effectiveness in assessing critical care costs. In the intensive care unit setting, it is particularly important to consider the patients' quality of life following the treatment of critical illness and to adopt a societal perspective when conducting economic analyses. Therefore, of the 4 economic analyses we cover, we recommend the use of cost-effectiveness and cost utility analyses.
authors.affiliation: The Ottawa Hospital, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Electronic address: kkyeremanteng@toh.ca.
authors.forename: Kwadwo
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kyeremanteng
authors.affiliation: University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Electronic address: cwan062@uottawa.ca.
authors.forename: Cynthia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wan
authors.affiliation: The Ottawa Hospital, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Electronic address: gdegidio@toh.ca.
authors.forename: Gianni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: D'Egidio
authors.affiliation: The Ottawa Hospital, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Electronic address: dneilipovitz@toh.ca.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Neilipovitz
mesh_terms: D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D003365:Costs and Cost Analysis; D003422:Critical Care / Q000191:economics*; D003695:Delivery of Health Care; D017048:Health Care Costs; D006801:Humans; D007362:Intensive Care Units / Q000191:economics*; D011788:Quality of Life; D019057:Quality-Adjusted Life Years
keywords: Cost minimization; Cost utility; Cost-benefit; Cost-effectiveness; Economic analysis; Intensive care