Standard Cost List for Health Technology Assessment
End : 30 September 2026
Standard Cost List for Health Technology Assessment
About Project
The Standard Cost List for Health Technology Assessment in Thailand provides the foundational cost data for Health Technology Assessment (HTA) and economic evaluation studies. It supplies robust, context-specific cost data to inform evidence-based policy, specifically for developing and revising benefit packages under Thailand’s Universal Coverage Scheme (UCS) and the National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM). Cost data is one of the key inputs used in health technology assessment. Therefore, high-quality, empirically derived cost data that accurately reflect real-world resource consumption within Thailand’s healthcare system are critical for generating reliable economic evidence and supporting sound policy.
The Health Intervention and Technology Assessment Program Foundation (HITAP) and research networks first developed the Standard Cost List in 2009. Its purpose was to enhance research efficiency by providing standardized cost inputs, reducing the time and expense of primary costing studies, and accelerating the translation of research into policy.
In the past, the Standard Cost List has been used continuously, with cost values adjusted to account for inflation rates and approximate real costs. While this approach is feasible to some extent, the context of the health system, medical technologies, and management practices has been changing over the past decade. As a result, adjusting costs by inflation cannot fully reflect the actual costs. Consequently, the Standard Cost List has undergone a comprehensive revision. This update involved a bottom-up recalculation of medical service costs based on current practices, a review of patient-level costing studies, and the inclusion of health promotion costs. All estimates have been systematically updated to 2024 values, ensuring greater accuracy and relevance.
