Abstract
BackgroundDespite the increased attention for assessing the effectiveness of implementation strategies, most implementation studies provide little or no information on its associated costs. The focus of the current study was to provide a detailed report of the resource use and costs associated with implementation of a short stay programme for breast cancer surgery in four Dutch hospitals.MethodsThe analysis was performed alongside a multi-centre implementation study. The process of identification, measurement and valuation of the implementation activities was based on recommendations for the design, analysis and reporting of health technology assessments. A scoring form was developed to prospectively determine the implementation activities at professional and implementation expert level. A time horizon of 5 years was used to calculate the implementation costs per patient.ResultsIdentified activities were consisted of development and execution of the implementation strategy during the implementation project. Total implementation costs over the four hospitals were €83.293. Mean implementation costs, calculated for 660 patients treated over a period of 5 years, were €25 per patient. Subgroup analyses showed that the implementation costs ranged from €3.942 to €32.000 on hospital level. From a local hospital perspective, overall implementation costs were €21 per patient, after exclusion of the costs made by the expert centre.ConclusionsWe provided a detailed case description of how implementation costs can be determined. Notable differences in implementation costs between hospitals were observed.Trial registrationISRCTN: ISRCTN77253391Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13012-015-0270-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Highlights
Despite the increased attention for assessing the effectiveness of implementation strategies, most implementation studies provide little or no information on its associated costs
We provide a detailed report of the resource use and costs associated with a hospital-tailored strategy to implement short stay programme for breast cancer surgery (SSP) in four early adopter hospitals
Subgroup analyses of implementation costs were performed on hospital level and from a hospital perspective after exclusion of the costs made by the expert centre
Summary
Despite the increased attention for assessing the effectiveness of implementation strategies, most implementation studies provide little or no information on its associated costs. Ament et al Implementation Science (2015) 10:78 used for the identification, measurement and valuation of the costs are mostly lacking [9,10,11,12]. Providing such details will offer some methodological guidance, which may lead to more robust and generalisable study findings. Accurate information on activities and costs associated with implementation of an innovation is important for policymakers such as hospital managers, especially regarding institutions where implementation of an innovation has not yet taken place
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
