Table 2 Overview of two approaches for measuring indirect costs
| Â | Human capital approach (baseline analysis) | Friction cost approach (sensitivity analysis) |
|---|---|---|
Perspective | • considers patient’s hours of work that are lost (possibly until patient’s retirement age) | • considers patient’s hours of work that are lost until employer can replace the patient |
Lost production | • measured through patient’s lost earnings (valued at 100%) no cap on duration of absence from work | • measured through patient’s lost earnings (valued at 80%) absence from work capped at 76 days (friction period) |
Premature death | • value of lost hours of work (=earnings) that would have accumulated until patient’s retirement age | • value of lost hours of work (=earnings) + value of lost hours of work for a full friction period (valued at 100%) |