Expenditure Savings Research Articles

Avatkov, V.A. (2017). Turkey’s foreign policy: Key changes in 2016. Free Thought, 2(1662), 71-77. Penjiyev, A.M. (2021). Scientific substantiation of the use of energy technologies based on renewable energy sources in Turkmenistan. Ashgabat: Turkmen State University. Murtazaev, U.I., & Mavloni, M.S. (2016). Water resources management in the Central Asian region: Problems and ways of their solution (minimization). Dushanbe: Irfon.

The digitalisation of public administration is a process aimed at improving access to goods and services. The demand for facilitating access to services, in particular public services, and boosting the economy, to which the digital transformation can contribute, makes this study relevant. The purpose of this study is to analyse current trends in the digital transformation of public administration and public authorities. The study employed general scientific methods, in particular analysis and synthesis, and comparative methods. Areas for improving the efficiency of decision-making by public authorities through the use of information and communication technologies and digitalisation were considered. It has been substantiated that the intensified use of the latest information technologies in providing various services by public authorities determines the beginning of the formation of its own model of digitalisation of public administration. The digital transformation of public administration is defined as a problem-solving tool for the society that can provide significant savings in public expenditure, benefiting the administration and the citizens, whose daily needs and concerns are placed at the centre of public administration strategies. The impact of digitising services for citizens has been shown to be effective, in particular in facilitating access to and use of services. The necessary conditions for successful digital transformation were identified

Ultra-low niobium (ULNb) alloying design solution for commodity grade structural steels

Conventionally the addition of micro-alloying elements such as niobium (Nb), typically ≥ 0.020w t%Nb, has been associated with high strength low alloy (HSLA) steels with lower carbon content and processed by means of Thermo-Mechanical rolling. Here it is well established, that Nb has the strongest effect in retarding static recrystallisation of austenite during inter-pass times by precipitate pinning mechanism. Due to the lower solubility of Nb in austenite at typical carbon levels associated with commodity grade structural steels (i.e., ≥0.15wt.%C), the use of Nb has been somewhat limited and widely regarded to be applied only when higher strengths, ≥355 MPa and/or low temperature impact toughness properties are specified.However, recent laboratory studies coupled with industrial trials have demonstrated an alternative solution to make commodity grade structural steels, without making any changes to existing processing routes employed. By using Ultra-Low Niobium (ULNb) additions (i.e., ≤100ppmNb) it is possible to enable cost savings in ferro-alloying expenditure coupled with a reduction in grade specific GWPe/tonne of steel produced. This paper summarises and presents these recent findings and discusses the metallurgical background towards extracting greater value from existing commodity grade structural steels through Ultra-Low additions of Nb.

CHANGES IN HOUSEHOLD AND GENERAL GOVERNMENT CONSUMPTION AND SAVINGS DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC IN THE EUROPEAN UNION

In March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic caused a significant economic shock in countries worldwide, negatively affecting every aspect of the world economy. Due to the situation with the COVID-19 pandemic, governments imposed a lockdown on households to slow the spread of the pandemic. It was unknown how long the lockdown could last and how much impact it would have on households and the general government. Household consumption is a specific component of final GDP consumption and generally represents about 60% of GDP. Crises most often affect the individual and manifest in unplanned and unnecessary costs that affect household consumption and savings, and consequently growth and development. Eurostat states that the household savings rate of the European Union (EU) decreased in the third quarter of 2020 but was 4.5% higher than in 2019. This paper aims to analyze the differences in household consumption expenditure and net savings across the EU from 2018 until 2021 and general government consumption expenditure and net savings. In addition, it will compare the differences in household and general government consumption and savings in 2019 and 2020. This paper uses univariate statistical methods to define the differences between the EU member states and their private and public consumption expenditure and net savings. The authors will suggest further research on the topic mentioned above and provide evidence on how households should react to future pandemic situations.

Longitudinal Association of Salaries for Medical Staff With Medical Service Utilization and Expenditure in China, 2007-2016.

Objectives: To test the hypothesis that higher salary levels of the medical staff are associated with lower medical service utilization and expenditure.Methods: Using longitudinal data from 31 Chinese provinces for the period 2007-2016, we constructed fixed effects models to analyze the association between the salary of medical staff and medical service utilization, medical expenditure, medication expenditure, and medication proportion.Results: A 10,000 CNY increase in medical staff's salaries was associated with a 0.89% decrease in the average number of annual inpatient admissions per person; 1.88 and 1.59% decreases in average expenditures per outpatient visit and inpatient admission, respectively; 3.05 and 2.66% decreases in drug expenditures per outpatient visit and inpatient admission, respectively; 0.58 percent point and 0.39 percent point decreases in the share of drug expenditure in outpatient and inpatient, respectively. When medical staff's salaries increased by 450,000 CNY, the turning point was reached when the maximum medical expenditure savings offset the medical staff salary increases, yielding a 634 billion CNY surplus from medical expenditure.Conclusions: Our results supported the hypothesis that higher salary levels of the medical staff are associated with lower medical service utilization and expenditure. Further studies are requested to test whether higher medical staff's salaries will attenuate over-treatment and that savings from reduced prescriptions and service charges will offset the increased salaries of medical staff.

Effect of financial deepening on economic growth: Does it encourage income group transition?

The rapid growth of financial deepening raises the problem of its effect, beneficial for economic development. This paper aims to demonstrate the relationship between economic growth (GDP per capita growth, GNI per capita) and financial depth (domestic credit to private sector and credit availability) in 142 countries, split into four income groups, over 2000–2020, using correlation analysis and data from the World Bank and the IMF. Besides, a comparative analysis of domestic credit to the private sector, economic freedom, Gini index, total government expenditure and national savings of countries that increased their income group status over 2011–2020 is presented. Financial deepening (increased credit availability and expansion of domestic credit to the private sector) encourages economic growth (via GNI per capita and GDP per capita growth). Although the presence of a nonlinear relationship between economic growth (GDP per capita growth) and financial depth (domestic credit to private sector and credit availability) over 1991–2020 is insufficient, there is a linear relationship between GNI per capita and credit availability, between credit availability and domestic credit to the private sector for the same sample of countries over 2000–2020. Meanwhile, there is a tendency towards a decrease in the correlation between GNI per capita and GDP per capita growth. Given the revealed linear correlation between domestic credit to the private sector and GNI per capita, financial deepening positively impacts income growth, and this dependence strengthens with increasing income levels. Target values of domestic credit to the private sector are proposed for the income group transition. AcknowledgmentThe paper was funded as a part of the “Relationship between financial depth and economic growth in Ukraine” research project (No. 0121U110766), conducted at the State Institution “Institute for Economics and Forecasting of the NAS of Ukraine”.

An annual energetic evaluation of booster and parallel refrigeration systems with R744 in food retail supermarkets. A Chilean perspective

In the supermarket refrigeration industry, the natural refrigerant R744 (CO2) has been designated as a long-term solution to mitigate HFC refrigerants' global warming. In this study, booster (BB) and parallel compression (BP) configurations were assessed through a detailed and novel energetic modelling, which includes a semi-empirical "four-parameter" for reciprocating and scroll compressor models and a one-zone model for the gas cooler, and a three zones model for the condenser. Model validation showed a mean deviation of 4.23% against reference values. The COP of the BP configuration was 14% higher than BB, for ambient temperatures between 0°C and 35°C. This study presents for the first time, the simulation of transcritical systems with R744 throughout out different locations in Chile. Simulation results of fourteen Chilean cities showed that the BP system allows reducing the annual energy consumption between 4% for very cold climates and 12% for desert regions. An economic analysis revealed that only in most desert and warm climates (Arica, Antofagasta and Santiago), the differential capital expenditures of the BP system over the BB were recovered within 20 years with the operational expenditure savings. For the rest of the evaluated cities, the BB system is a more profitable solution than BP. The study aims to support the introduction of refrigeration system with R744 in Chilean supermarkets.

Perceptions of Generic Drugs in the Pharmacists of Public Hospitals: A Cross-sectional Survey in Hubei Province of China

Generic drugs provide an opportunity for savings in drug expenditure since they are available at a lower cost and do not affect patients' health. A better understanding of pharmacists' knowledge, attitudes, and perception can promote the quality use of generic drugs. The objective of this study was to investigate the knowledge, attitudes, and perception of pharmacists from tertiary hospitals in China regarding generic drugs. A cross-sectional survey using a postal questionnaire was conducted, which was sent to 200 hospital pharmacists randomly selected from tertiary hospitals in Hubei Province. A total of 125 questionnaires out of 200 were received. Of the respondents, 80 were female and 45 were male. The majority of respondents (87.2%) could clearly distinguish between original and generic drugs. Pharmacists agreed that generic drugs were less effective (52.8%) and produced more side effects (52%). Fortynine respondents thought that generic drug products were not adequately tested. Approximately 78% and 60% of the pharmacists indicated that generic substitution was not feasible for drugs with narrow therapeutic windows and drugs for critical diseases, respectively. Most of them supported the recommendation of generic drugs based on professional judgment. Our study showed that a considerable portion of Chinese hospital pharmacists hold negative perceptions of generic drugs. Interventions to improve pharmacists' knowledge of generic drugs are needed.

Hospice Saves Costs for Families: Evidence from 16 Years of Medicare Survey Data

Research ObjectiveUse of hospice is an indicator of high quality end‐of‐life care. As of 2019, more than half of all deaths in the US occurred under the care of hospice. Economic evaluations of hospice have primarily focused on cost savings to the Medicare program or managed care programs without consideration of costs to families. Families of people near end of life are vulnerable to adverse financial experiences, which may compound their physical, mental and emotional burden through bereavement. Our objective was to estimate the impact of hospice use on family out‐of‐pocket (OOP) and total healthcare expenditures.Study DesignWe conducted a pooled, cross‐sectional analysis of healthcare spending in the last 6 months of life using data from the nationally representative Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey (MCBS), 2002–2018. We measured total healthcare expenditures across all payers (Medicare, Medicaid, private insurance, HMO, family OOP, other) and by expenditure type (inpatient care, outpatient care, skilled nursing, home health, hospice, and prescription drugs). We used propensity‐score based Inverse Probability Treatment Weighting to match participants who used hospice and those who did not, stratifying the exposure group by duration of hospice use.Population StudiedMCBS participants who died between 2002 and 2018.Principal FindingsOf 8568 decedents, average total healthcare expenditures in the last six months of life were $42,343 (SD $44,427) and family OOP expenditures were $4827 (SD $9550). OOP spending for families was driven by nursing home care, averaging $538 in the last month of life, followed by spending for medical provider visits ($229 in the last month of life). Total healthcare expenditures were lower for those who used hospice compared to matched non‐hospice controls for the following hospice care durations: 7 days prior to death ($1417 lower expenditures for hospice users, P < 0.001); 2 weeks prior to death ($5221 lower, P < 0.001); 1 month prior to death ($6426, P < 0.001); and 3 months prior to death ($3351, P < 0.010). Family OOP expenditures were lower for those who used hospice 2 weeks prior to death ($275, P < 0.001), 1 month prior to death ($402, P < 0.001), and 3 months prior to death ($464, P = 0.072) compared with matched controls who did not use hospice. Families enrolled with hospice spent significantly less OOP on medical provider visits and inpatient care than families who did not enroll with hospice.ConclusionsHospice enrollment was associated with lower costs for families in the month prior to death, as well as savings for payers. The magnitude of OOP savings of hospice enrollment to families are meaningful to many Americans, particularly those with lower socioeconomic status. Savings in healthcare expenditures in total and for families were driven by inpatient care and medical provider visits.Implications for Policy or PracticeAs healthcare continues to shift from institutions to the community settings and use of home‐based care such as hospice increases, it is important to assess cost shifting to families. Our findings that hospice does not shift economic burden from Medicare to families underscores the need to promote timely access to hospice care as even those with short hospice durations experienced cost savings.Primary Funding SourceNational Institutes of Health.

Technology Focus: Subsea Systems (August 2021)

Flow assurance in subsea oil and gas fields often presents significant challenges. Every field has its own combination of difficulties, and no universal process or system can be used to mitigate these. Detailed knowledge across a broad range of competencies, therefore, is required to find solutions that can minimize the risk of not getting the hydrocarbons safely to the process facilities. Many subsea fields that are being developed today are long tiebacks, taking advantage of existing offshore infrastructure or producing directly to shore. These developments must deal with the long-distance transport of hydrocarbons in deep cold water, commonly increasing the risk of hydrate formation and wax deposition, for example. In addition, large elevation changes from deep water to surface and topographical challenges along the pipeline can create flow-regime effects that can hinder production. The loss of temperature in a long subsea pipeline also creates challenges for fields that produce heavy oil because the oil viscosity in some cases increases dramatically at low temperatures, in addition to effective viscosities increasing because of oil and water emulsions. Other phenomena such as scale deposition, foaming, sand production, erosion, and corrosion must be considered and dealt with as well. Various smart-technology innovations for subsea oil and gas production contribute to reducing the risk of these flow-assurance issues. Some of them are described in this month’s selected SPE papers. A good example is as follows: When wells start to produce water, the operator needs to understand where the water is coming from and quantify volumes in order to start a mitigation program to avoid hydrate formation. This is one of the reasons why subsea multiphase flowmeters have become an essential feature in all new subsea fields. The most common remedy for flow-assurance problems is probably the use of chemical additives. A sensor technology that can directly determine the ratio between produced water and chemicals such as monoethylene glycol has been recently introduced in subsea production systems. This measurement enables the optimization of chemical-injection rates, thereby contributing to significant savings in capital expenditure (reduced design margins) and operational expenditure (reduced overdosage margins). Another effective way to prevent hydrates and wax is to keep the process temperature above critical limits by applying active flowline heating. New technologies for highly reliable and efficient subsea electrically heat-traced flowlines have recently been qualified, industrialized, and installed. Technologies as described here can play an important role in future subsea field developments. The recommended readings for this feature date back further back in time than usual, but are relevant to the theme of this year’s main selections. Recommended additional reading at OnePetro: www.onepetro.org. OTC 29232 Real-Time Subsea Hydrate Management in the World’s Longest Subsea Tieback by Christophe Vielliard, OneSubsea, a Schlumberger Company, et al. OTC 31078 Electrically Heated Trace Flowline on the Ærfugl Project—A Journey From Product Qualification to Offshore Campaign by Guy Mencarelli, Subsea 7, et al. SPE 195784 A New Flow-Assurance Strategy for the Vega Asset: Managing Hydrate and Integrity Risks on a Long Multiphase Flowline of a Norwegian Subsea Asset by Stephan Hatscher, Wintershall Norge, et al.

Thermodynamic Performance Investigation of a Small-Scale Solar Compression-Assisted Multi-Ejector Indoor Air Conditioning System for Hot Climate Conditions

In year-round hot climatic conditions, conventional air conditioning systems consume significant amounts of electricity primarily generated by conventional power plants. A compression-assisted, multi-ejector space cooling system driven by low-grade solar thermal energy is investigated in terms of energy and exergy performance, using a real gas property-based ejector model for a 36 kW-scale air conditioning application, exposed to annually high outdoor temperatures (i.e., up to 42 °C), for four working fluids (R11, R141b, R245fa, R600a). Using R245fa, the multi-ejector system effectively triples the operating condenser temperature range of a single ejector system to cover the range of annual outdoor conditions, while compression boosting reduces the generator heat input requirement and improves the overall refrigeration coefficient of performance (COP) by factors of ~3–8 at medium- to high-bound condenser temperatures, relative to simple ejector cycles. The system solar fraction varies from ~0.2 to 0.9 in summer and winter, respectively, with annual average mechanical and overall COPs of 24.5 and 0.21, respectively. Exergy destruction primarily takes place in the ejector assembly, but ejector exergy efficiency improves with compression boosting. The system could reduce annual electric cooling loads by over 40% compared with a conventional local split air conditioner, with corresponding savings in electricity expenditure and GHG emissions.

Weight Loss-Associated Decreases in Medical Care Expenditures for Commercially Insured Patients With Chronic Conditions.

Objective:Savings associated with weight loss for populations with chronic conditions are poorly understood. The purpose of this study was to estimate medical expenditure savings associated with weight loss among commercially insured adults with chronic medical conditions.Methods: The:2001–2015 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey data were used to estimate the effect of changes in body mass index (BMI) on health expenditures from instrumental variable regression models.Results:Decreases in annual medical expenditures associated with a reduction in BMI of 1 kg/m2 varied by condition (eg, $289 for back pain and $752 for diabetes). The greater the weight loss, the greater the savings. The higher the baseline BMI, the greater the savings for similar levels of weight loss.Conclusions:The detailed estimates of savings for populations with chronic conditions can be used by employers to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of weight management interventions.

Analysis of Three Potential Savings in E-Working Expenditure.

The aim of this research study is to contribute to the sustainability of e-working initiatives, specifically by exploring three employee-financial impacts. The study adopted a two-step methodological approach: firstly, a comprehensive review of the existing literature was done and, secondly, secondary data analysis was carried out. The study analyses how three potential financial benefits for e-workers differ in various countries and whether these can increase e-workers’ earnings. It was found that there are significant benefits. Regarding the affordability of a home, e-working presents a useful tool to move to less costly regions. This reduces the struggle with housing. Aside from housing, commuting is one of the largest time and cost consuming expenses. Based on our calculations, all employees can save commuting time and money by using public transport or their own vehicles. Important considerations here are the costs, such as fuel, insurance, tolls, time, health and environment. Making cappuccino or coffee at home is a useful way to decrease expenses compared to buying them at a café. Generally, the results indicate that an increase of e-working tends to decrease selected expenses of employees. This paper point outs that, on the basis of average costings, e-working decreases selected expenses of employees. The findings also indicate that more long-term and comprehensive studies are needed, especially in relation to other benefits, such as lunch, childcare and clothing. This study has contributed to highlighting the e-working financial benefits for e-workers by not commuting to work.

A techno-economic assessment on the adoption of latent heat thermal energy storage systems for district cooling optimal dispatch & operations

The adoption of high-density phase change materials as cold thermal energy storage media have been considered as potential alternatives to water and ice. In this paper, the implementation of these media has been investigated in the context of district cooling in mixed-used building micro-grids whereby the cold thermal energy storage is retrofitted into an existing eco-building cluster. The techno-economic feasibility of implementing phase change materials, which includes eutectic salt, polyethylene glycol and paraffin as cold thermal energy storage media for district cooling, have been evaluated by computing the economic dispatch of a cooling bus network using mixed-integer quadratic programming. Furthermore, the impact of high-density storage media with a reduced footprint on the integration and design of cold thermal energy storage systems in district cooling has been included in the analysis. The capital expenditure of cold thermal energy storage systems, the land rental price for required occupancy and operating expenditure are used to determine the net present value after 20 years. Through peak shaving, optimally sized cold thermal energy storage has shown a better alternative substituting one of the two chillers. The smaller chiller (1200 kWc) is no longer required in the plant, giving significant savings in capital expenditure. The cost-benefit analysis also showed that only eutectic salt phase change materials are competitive with ice, with a net present value approaching 200,000 $ after 20 years. When phase change materials are adopted, especially if compared with water, the building operations and related costs are significantly less affected by large fluctuations in land rental price given its smaller footprint, thus posing significantly lower financial risks.

Economic burden of asthma in Singapore

Background and objectiveUp-to-date economic burden of asthma in Singapore is currently unknown.MethodsWe quantify the per capita and total annual costs of asthma for adults and children by level of symptom...

Dissecting subjective discount rates and investment literacy for energy-efficient investments

Consumers are assumed to compare the upfront costs to the discounted value of future savings in energy expenditures when deciding whether to invest in a more energy-efficient product. This assumption presupposes that consumers have the energy-related knowledge, are familiar with the concept of discounting, and use a subjective discount rate, known as the implicit discount rate (IDR). However, the related literature suggests that consumers usually suffer from energy-related financial illiteracy and tend to apply IDRs much higher than the market interest rates owing to market and behavioral failures. This paper wishes to contribute to the ongoing discussion on how to promote energy efficiency across the residential sector using the results of a stated preference survey among 992 Greek consumers. The survey provides empirical evidence on the heterogeneity in the energy efficiency-related IDRs. More importantly, it is one of the few studies to look directly at investment literacy in the field of energy efficiency. To this end, a choice-experiment, the focus of which is to examine whether consumers can recognize the most cost-efficient alternative products, is being conducted. The estimated probabilities of having selected the most optimal choice are then regressed against attitudinal and socio-demographic variables to investigate the factors that affect investment literacy. The results suggest that preferences, behavioral biases, external barriers, and socio-demographic factors are important sources of heterogeneity in the estimated IDR and the energy-related investment literacy of the consumers. The outcomes and the limitations of the survey leave space for future research.

Financial implications of New York City's weight management initiative.

To estimate potential annual savings in medical expenditures from a subsidized weight management program from the NYC Government perspective. Longitudinal observational study. Employees of New York City (NYC) government and enrolled dependents. 14,946 participants with overweight and obesity. WW (formerly Weight Watchers®) 'Workshop' and 'Digital' programs. Participation rate, enrollment duration, weight change, and predicted gross and net total and per capita medical expenditure savings and return on investment (ROI). Participation rate, enrollment duration, weight change, and program costs are based on direct observation. Predicted savings are simulated based on published data relating weight loss to medical expenditure reductions. In total, 47% of participating employees and 50% of participating dependents lost weight during the enrollment period. Mean (median) enrollment duration for employees was 7.1 months (7.0) and for dependents was 6.9 months (6.0). Mean (median) weight losses for the employees in 'Workshops' and 'Digital' was 6.6 lbs (2.80) and 6.3 lbs (0.0). For dependents, weight losses were 7.4 lbs (3.59) and 11.6 lbs (2.0). Per capita and total predicted net savings to NYC Government from employees was estimated to be $120 and $1,486,102 for an ROI of 143%. Including dependents, predicted net savings increases to $1,963,431 for an ROI of 189%. Over 80% of savings came from participants in the Obese III category. An evidence-based weight management program has the potential to generate a positive ROI for employers. Future studies should validate these estimates using actual data and more rigorous designs.

Effect of air pollution on health care expenditure: Evidence from respiratory diseases.

Recent reports show that at least 95% of the world's population is breathing polluted air. However, the impact of air quality on air pollution-related medical expenditure and utilization is sparse. This study estimates the short-term health care cost impacts of air pollution using a meteorological phenomenon-thermal inversion-as an instrumental variable for air quality. Using information on outpatient care for respiratory diseases from universal health insurance claim data in Taiwan during 2006-2012, our estimates suggest that a one-unit reduction in the air quality index (AQI) leads to NT$2.3 billion (nearly US$74 million) of savings in respiratory-related outpatient expenditure per year. Given that the average AQI is equal to 32 during our study period, completely removing air pollution would reduce the national health expenditure by approximately 8% annually. Our results provide the important implication that the cost of controlling air pollutant emissions can be offset by curtailing health care expenditure.

Dutch shared savings program targeted at primary care: Reduced expenditures in its first year

In countries where GPs fulfill a central role in the health care system, like in the Netherlands, the lack of value-based incentives in GP payment systems may have negative consequences for value delivered in other parts of the health care spectrum. We evaluate an experiment in which GPs were allowed to share in savings in total health care expenditures, conditionally on achieving quality targets. At least in theory, these so-called ‘shared savings contracts’ incentivize GPs to become critical gatekeepers, coordinate the provision of care and substitute for specialist services when appropriate. This study evaluates a Dutch shared savings program targeted at GPs. This study employs a difference-in-differences design using a regional control group of non-participating GPs. We find that program participation led to savings in health care expenditures (-2%), while patient satisfaction was unaffected and while the results for other quality indicators were ambiguous. Additional analyses show that savings have been predominantly realized by lowering the volume of specialist care, and that almost every participating GP displayed cost-saving behavior. This finding suggests that shared savings contracts, even when added as a mere complemented to existing volume-based payment models, already elicit substantive effort to increase the value of health care provided.

Potential efficiency gains and expenditure savings in the Italian Regional Healthcare Systems

Potential efficiency gains and expenditure savings in the Italian Regional Healthcare Systems

Considerations of variability and power for long-term monitoring of stream fish assemblages

Little attention has been given to optimizing statistical power for monitoring stream fish assemblages. We explored the relationship between temporal variability and statistical power using 34 metrics from fish community data collected annually at six sites over 10 years via electrofishing. Metric variability differed by the life stage and group of species considered, use of abundance or mass data, and data standardization technique. Lower variability was associated with community data, abundance data, and time-based standardizations, while greater variability was associated with young-of-the-year data, mass data, and area-based standardizations. Simulation-based power analysis indicated metric choice, and to a lesser degree, monitoring design (annual, biennial, endpoints, or haphazard sampling) influenced power to detect change. Across a fixed number of surveys (N = 60), endpoints sampling performed best. The N needed to detect change was heavily dependent upon metric choice for all monitoring designs, with the most biologically specific metrics requiring greater N. Large savings in effort and resource expenditure can be obtained utilizing biologically relevant metrics that are robust to temporal noise within an appropriate sampling design.