TABLE 1.

Characteristics of Data Sources for Estimating Direct Medical and Nonmedical Health Care Costs

	Data Sources
	Number (N = 88)	%
Lowest level of data aggregation
National	2	2.3
Hospital/provider	12	13.6
Service	22	25.0
Individual/patient	52	59.1
Sponsor*
Government agency	60	68.2
Private (for profit and not-for profit)	34	38.6
University	4	4.5
Population
National or nationally representative	64	72.7
Multistate	16	18.2
Other	8	9.1
Type of data source
Survey	37	42.0
Administrative data or linked administrative data	25	28.4
Discharge	5	5.7
Fee or cost schedule	14	15.9
Other	7	8.0
Length of observation
Cross-sectional (or single observation)	55	62.5
Longitudinal	33	37.5
Source of diagnosis information*
Procedure, diagnosis or DRG codes	40	45.5
Self-report	18	20.5
Registry	6	6.8
Chart or medical review	6	6.8
Other	3	3.4
Not available	29	33.0
Cost elements*
Institution or facility	5	5.7
Inpatient hospitalization	37	42.0
Physician and other outpatient	40	45.5
Outpatient pharmacy or laboratory	25	28.4
Out-of-pocket	20	22.7
Patient time and other direct nonmedical	31	35.2
Wages	12	13.6
Cost of data
Freely available for downloading/less than $100	43	48.9
Cost varies with scope of project	45	51.1

^*Percentages add to more than 100%.