Table 2.

Health resources and quantification.

Domain		Item	Valuation
Direct medical costs
	Inpatient care/day admission	Days in hospital, rehabilitation, and nursing wards	Standardized cost units
	Ambulant consultations	Visits to general practitioners, neurologists, others specialists (urologists, ophthalmologists, and psychiatrists), multiple sclerosis nurses, physical therapists, psychologists, occupational therapists, opticians, speech therapists, acupuncturists, and other alternative healing professionals	Standardized cost units
	Investigations/diagnostics	Magnetic resonance imaging, computed tomography, spinal tap, blood tests, and others	Physicians’ fee schedule
	Over-the-counter medication	Medication and recommending doctor	Patient reported
	Disease-modifying therapies		Annual therapy costs as calculated from medication reports
	Home help and support of professionals	Professional help, household care, and personal assistance	Human capital approach
	Medical consumables	Medical consumables	Patient reported
Direct nonmedical costs
	Investments and equipment	House and car modifications, walking aids, wheelchair (manual and electric), scooter, sickbed, and others; payer and grants	Patient reported
	Informal care	Time taken for preparation of meals, climbing stairs, personal care, drug administration, transport, and others; reduction of working hours of relatives	Opportunity costs method
Indirect costs
	Employment and labor productivity	Full or part time work, sick leaves, reduced working time, change of work, and loss of earning	Human capital approach
	Employment and labor productivity	Absence hours (multiple sclerosis and others), total working hours, and productivity scale	Human capital approach