Time-Driven Activity-Based Costing (TDABC) in Otolaryngology: A Scoping Review

Accurately measuring the cost of a clinical process is critical to identifying ways to increase the value of a healthcare process. The objective of this study was to review time-driven activity-based costing (TDABC) in otolaryngology and to illustrate areas where value may be increased.

PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, CINAHL Complete, and Business Source Complete from database inception to August 2024.

In accordance with Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses extension for Scoping Reviews guidelines, peer-reviewed full-length articles analyzing an otolaryngology care process with TDABC were included. Data collected included study characteristics, objectives, method of process mapping and costing, key study findings, subspecialty focus, and limitations.

Nine were included in the final review. Subspecialties consisted of pediatric otolaryngology (N = 4), head and neck surgery (N = 3), and rhinology (N = 2). The primary study aims were to reduce waste (N = 4), quantify cost (N = 4), evaluate the impact of a new intervention (N = 3), and identify quality improvement opportunities (N = 3). Most articles used input from involved personnel and/or direct observation to create process maps and reviewed institutional and/or public records to obtain cost information. TDABC was primarily used to study outpatient clinics or surgeries. Common limitations included limited generalizability, susceptibility to biases, and incomplete information.

This scoping review demonstrated that TDABC can be a powerful and versatile tool for costing and identifying opportunities to increase the value of a care process in otolaryngology. Future costing studies can use TDABC to analyze care pathways in understudied otolaryngology subspecialties.