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A Resource Guide to Costing Prepared by The Young Adults in the Workplace (YIW) Cross-Site
Evaluation Team Developed from a previous version prepared for The Workplace Managed Care (WMC) Initiative Prepared under funding from The Center for Substance Abuse Prevention Contact: Jeremy W. Bray RTI 3040 Cornwallis Road Research Triangle Park, NC 27709-1294 (919) 541-7003 (919) 541-6683 (fax) bray@rti.org January 14, 2005 |
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RTI has prepared this resource guide to assist grantees in developing a
methodology to estimate the costs of their workplace program. The purpose of this guide is to present an
overview of key ideas and to list resources that provide greater detail on
those ideas. Copies of the references
identified as “resources” are attached.
There are three key steps in developing a costing methodology. The first step is to know your
intervention. This step answers the
question, “What am I trying to find the costs of?” Before you can estimate the costs of an intervention, you need to
clearly define the intervention and know what resources are used to provide
that intervention. The second step is
to know your perspective. This step
answers the question, “Whose costs do I consider?” There are several different perspectives for which you can gather
cost information. You need to determine
the perspective that is most relevant for your analysis needs. The third step is to develop a cost
instrument. This step answers the
question, “How do I collect the cost information?” In the remainder of this guide, we outline each of these steps
and provide a list of resources that describe each step in greater detail.
1.
To delineate
clearly the intervention from any other services being offered.
2.
To identify
any and all activities that comprise the intervention (and are not research or
related activities).
3.
To identify
all resources used to provide the intervention.
§ Labor resources (e.g., time from paid staff
or volunteers)
§ Nonlabor resources (e.g., materials,
equipment, building space)
1. How does the intervention differ from other existing services?
2. How does the intervention overlap with existing services?
3. What percentage of labor time is devoted to the intervention as opposed to existing services?
4. What proportion of nonlabor resources are devoted to the intervention as opposed to existing services?
5. Are any free and/or subsidized resources used in providing the intervention?
§
If so, what
proportion of free and/or subsidized resources are devoted to the intervention
as opposed to existing services?
Miller (1998): Step 1, Tasks 2 and 3
Bray et al. (1996): Case Study Worksite Descriptions
French, Zarkin, and Bray (1995): Process Description
Zarkin et al. (2003): All
1.
To determine
those costs that are relevant to your analysis. Some common perspectives include the following:
§
Provider
§
Client
§
Employer
§
Society
2.
To help
determine where research ends and the intervention begins.
3.
To focus your
analysis to the proper audience.
4.
To ensure that
your costs correspond with our outcomes.
1.
What is the
perspective of your outcomes analysis?
2.
Who is the
target audience for your research and what perspective do they expect?
3.
Should you
consider calculating multiple costs estimates, each from a different
perspective?
§
Do you need to
consider costs incurred by patients/clients as a result of participating in the
intervention?
§
Do you need to
identify the costs incurred by employers as a result of employees participating
in the intervention?
4.
Can you
clearly distinguish those health care costs that are actual costs of the
intervention versus outcomes the intervention is designed to affect?
Miller
(1998): Step 1, Task 1
Bray et al.
(1996): Introduction; Data and Methods
French, Zarkin,
and Bray (1995): Cost Analysis
Zarkin et al.
(2003): All
1. To identify sources of cost data for each resource identified in Step 1.
2. To ensure that your cost estimates are from the same perspective as your outcomes.
3. To standardize the data collection process and insure comparability to other cost estimates.
1.
Should you use
budgets or expenditures?
§
Use of
expenditure reports provides more accurate information on actual, out-of-pocket
expenditures, whereas budgets only provide information on projected
expenses.
2.
Does your
instrument collect cost information on all resources identified in Step 1?
§
Does it
collect the provider’s out-of-pocket expenses for all the resources used in the
intervention?
§
Does it
collect the estimated market value of resources used in the intervention that
are subsidized or used free of charge?
3.
Does it
collect costs from the perspective identified in Step 2?
§
For example,
if your perspective includes the client, does the instrument collect
information on the value of the client’s time devoted to the intervention?
4.
Have you
accounted for inflation appropriately?
Miller
(1998): Step 3 and Step 4
Bray et al.
(1996): Data and Methods
French et al.
(1997): All
French, Zarkin,
and Bray (1995): Process Description
and Cost Analysis
RTI (1998): All
Bray, Jeremy W.,
Michael T. French, Brad J. Bowland, and Laura J. Dunlap. 1996.
“The Cost of Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs): Findings from Seven Case Studies.” Employee
Assistance Quarterly 11(4):1-19.
French, Michael
T., Laura J. Dunlap, Gary A. Zarkin, Kerry Anne McGeary, and A. Thomas
McLellan. 1997. “A Structured Instrument for Estimating the
Economic Cost of Drug Abuse Treatment.”
Journal of Substance Abuse
Treatment 14(5):445-455.
French, Michael
T., Gary A. Zarkin, and Jeremy W. Bray.
1995. “A Methodology for
Evaluating the Costs and Benefits of Employee Assistance Programs.” Journal
of Drug Issues 25(2):451-470.
Miller, Ted. 1998.
“Part 1: Steps in the
Cost-Outcome Process.” Paper
distributed at the Third WMC Steering Committee Meeting, February 19-20.
Research Triangle
Institute. March 1998. Employee Assistance Program Cost Analysis
Program for Internal EAPs (EAPCAP‑IN):
Cost Interview Guide for Internal EAP Case Studies. Research Triangle Park, NC: Research Triangle Institute.
Zarkin, Gary A.,
Jeremy W. Bray, K.L. Davis, T.F. Babor, and J.C. Higgins-Biddle. 2003.
“The Costs of Screening and Brief Intervention for Risky Alcohol Use.” Journal
of Studies on Alcohol 64(6):849‑857.
