The studies vary in methodology, type and scope of costs assessed.
As no standard criteria exist, the type and scope of costs differed.
In addition, type and scope of costs included differed between the trials.
The scope of costs therefore includes both variable and fixed direct healthcare costs given that both have an opportunity cost in this context.
Heterogeneity was noted among studies in patient selection, definition of spine pain, scope of costs compared, study duration, and methods to estimate costs.
To date, the reported economic burden of childhood caries is likely to be underestimated, as previous reports did not capture the full scope of costs and missed the potential cost-savings of prevention programs.
15 To date, the reported economic burden of ECC is likely to be underestimated, as previous estimates did not capture the full scope of costs and missed the potential cost savings of prevention programmes.
The scope of costs included resources consumed for 30 procedures classified into diagnostics, non-surgical periodontal therapy and surgical interventions performed for periodontitis patients – these were determined by an expert panel discussion via a clinical pathway.
We found heterogeneity in the scopes of cost analyses, including types of costs, numbers and types of related comorbidities, and BMI thresholds used.
And it thinks there is plenty of scope for cost savings.
"In particular, aerospace, industrial gas turbine and telecommunications markets remained soft, reinforcing the need to increase the scope of our cost savings and restructuring initiatives".
