Cost of illness: Classification and Analysis Perspectives

Introduction: The worldwide sustained growth of health spending leads us to study the efficient resources allocation of the health sector. In this context, economic evaluations constitute a valuable tool for decision making. In order to do so, it is necessary to estimate the costs of the evaluated alternatives. Cost studies include disease costs estimations which identify, quantify and evaluate all the economic resources involved in a health-disease-care process decision. Objective: describe how the different perspectives of analysis can modify the cost estimations of the same health condition. Material and methods: descriptive study based on a non-systematic review of the literature about the analysis’ perspective of the studies regarding the costs of the diseases during the period 1960-2015. Results: it is observed that, in most cases, the cost estimates consider the direct health costs derived from the bene ts of the prevention and treatment of diseases. The perspective of the patient and his/her family presents an exception. From this perspective direct nonhealth costs are not usually included in the economic valuations of a disease. Indirect and intangible costs are only indirectly taken into account from the perspective of the professional, the state or the third-party payer, when decisions are made based on cost-utility studies that underlie the quality of life of patients. Discussion: not recognizing all the costs involved in a disease may underestimate the economic impact of the disease leading to incorrect health policies, inef cient allocation of resources and partial assessments of the costs associated with available treatments or alternatives, which could bias the results obtained in cost-effectiveness studies used to guide medical practice and benefit coverage.