The Development of a New Approach for the Harmonized Multi-Sectoral and Multi-Country Cost Valuation of Services: The PECUNIA Reference Unit Cost (RUC) Templates

TY - JOUR

T1 - The Development of a New Approach for the Harmonized Multi-Sectoral and Multi-Country Cost Valuation of Services: The PECUNIA Reference Unit Cost (RUC) Templates

AU - Mayer, Susanne

AU - Berger, Michael

AU - Perić, Nataša

AU - Fischer, Claudia

AU - Konnopka, Alexander

AU - Brodszky, Valentin

AU - Evers, Silvia M A A

AU - Hakkaart-van Roijen, Leona

AU - Ruiz Guitérrez Colosia, Mencia

AU - Salvador-Carulla, Luis

AU - Park, A-La

AU - Thorn, Joanna

AU - García-Pérez, Lidia

AU - Simon, Judit

AU - PECUNIA Group

N1 - Practical Application. Word count up to 3000. Reviews and explores the practicalities of implementing/using particular economic methodologies to address healthcare decision problems. The paper should either focus on one particular method and review its advantages and disadvantages, or focus more on a particular decision problem and review the various methods that might help inform the problem.

PY - 2024/11

Y1 - 2024/11

N2 - BACKGROUND: Increasing healthcare costs require evidence-based resource use allocation for which assessing costs rigorously and comparably is crucial. Harmonized cross-country costing methods for evaluating interventions from a societal perspective are lacking. This study presents the development process and content of the service costing templates developed as part of the European project PECUNIA.METHODS: The six developmental steps towards technological readiness of the templates included (1) a common conceptual costing framework and review of methodological costing issues, (2) harmonization strategy formulation, (3) proof-of-concept with expert feedback, (4) piloting, (5) validation, and (6) demonstration in six European countries.RESULTS: The PECUNIA Reference Unit Cost (RUC) Templates for service costing are three new self-completion tools to be used with secondary or primary data for top-down micro-costing or top-down gross-costing approaches. Complementary data collection and unit cost aggregation/weighting templates are available. The applications leading to the final versions including (4) piloting through calculation of 15-unit costs, (5) validation within a Health Technology Assessment framework, and (6) RUC calculations mostly based on secondary data demonstrated the templates' general feasibility, with feedback for improved usability incorporated and a supplementary user guide developed.CONCLUSION: The validated PECUNIA RUC Templates for multi-sectoral and multi-country service costing allow for harmonized RUC development while incorporating flexibility and transparency in the choice of costing approaches, data sources and magnitude of remaining heterogeneity. The templates are expected to significantly improve the quality, comparability and availability of unit costs for economic evaluations, and promote the transferability of service cost information across Europe.

AB - BACKGROUND: Increasing healthcare costs require evidence-based resource use allocation for which assessing costs rigorously and comparably is crucial. Harmonized cross-country costing methods for evaluating interventions from a societal perspective are lacking. This study presents the development process and content of the service costing templates developed as part of the European project PECUNIA.METHODS: The six developmental steps towards technological readiness of the templates included (1) a common conceptual costing framework and review of methodological costing issues, (2) harmonization strategy formulation, (3) proof-of-concept with expert feedback, (4) piloting, (5) validation, and (6) demonstration in six European countries.RESULTS: The PECUNIA Reference Unit Cost (RUC) Templates for service costing are three new self-completion tools to be used with secondary or primary data for top-down micro-costing or top-down gross-costing approaches. Complementary data collection and unit cost aggregation/weighting templates are available. The applications leading to the final versions including (4) piloting through calculation of 15-unit costs, (5) validation within a Health Technology Assessment framework, and (6) RUC calculations mostly based on secondary data demonstrated the templates' general feasibility, with feedback for improved usability incorporated and a supplementary user guide developed.CONCLUSION: The validated PECUNIA RUC Templates for multi-sectoral and multi-country service costing allow for harmonized RUC development while incorporating flexibility and transparency in the choice of costing approaches, data sources and magnitude of remaining heterogeneity. The templates are expected to significantly improve the quality, comparability and availability of unit costs for economic evaluations, and promote the transferability of service cost information across Europe.

U2 - 10.1007/s40258-024-00905-0

DO - 10.1007/s40258-024-00905-0

M3 - Short publication

C2 - 39115752

VL - 22

SP - 783

EP - 796

JO - APPL HEALTH ECON HEA

JF - APPL HEALTH ECON HEA

SN - 1175-5652

IS - 6

ER -