Table 1. Cost items and COVID-related activities.
| Activities [Reference] | Examples of resources used a: | Dimensions | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Capital | Labor | Materials/ Expenses | Time b | Space c | |
| Treatment | |||||
| Diagnostic procedures [13–15, 18, 19, 21, 23, 25] | Cost of space used; durable office supplies; acrylic aerosol partitions. | Physicians (number of shifts from Jan-May 2020 respectively = 96; 191; 841; 764; 275), nurses (number of shifts from Jan-May 2020 respectively = 364; 419; 1,845; 2,142; 545); assistant nurses; technicians; non-medical personnel. | Personal protective equipment (PPE); testing solutions; swabs; newly acquired non-durable medical and office supplies. | Prep, P, S | COVID, Semi |
| Treatment procedures [12–15, 17–19, 21–25] | Cost of space used; cost of setting up negative pressure rooms; biosafety cabinets; medical vacuum pump systems. | PPE; antiviral drugs; newly acquired medical supplies; alcohol solutions. | Prep, P, S | COVID, Semi | |
| Laboratory and X-ray analyses [18, 21, 22] | Unit costs of lab and diagnostic imaging tests were provided by the hospital. | P | COVID | ||
| Renovation in COVID and semi-COVID wards [12, 15, 21] | Cost of renovation (e.g., installation of bathrooms for staff, access control and ventilation systems) (externally sourced). | - | Cost of cleaning and moving office and medical supplies to designated space for COVID treatment (externally sourced). | Prep, P, S | COVID, Semi |
| Post-discharge care [Interviews] | - | Nurses (n = 18) and non-medical personnel (n = 11). | Cost of food and renting a space for patient recovery (known as “Hospitel”). | P | COVID |
| Room and board for staff [Interviews] | - | Hotel stays for staff unable to go home (n = 25, daily) from 26 March- May; meals for staff (100,000 boxes donated). | - | P | COVID |
| Life insurance for staff [Interviews] | - | Life insurance premia for staff for one year, from April 2020 (n = 9,083). | - | P, S | COVID |
| Infection control | |||||
| Infection control [13, 15, 16, 18, 19, 21–23, 25] | Cost of renovation in surgery rooms; biosafety cabinets; ventilators (CPAP and BiPAP) | - | Use of PPE on non-COVID patients; disposable airway adapters; alcohol solutions. | Prep, P, S | Non, Semi, R |
| Security and surveillance [12] | Infrared thermometers. | 12 temperature screening checkpoints, manned by non-medical personnel (n = 2 per checkpoint, with one shift each daily). | Alcohol gel; face masks. | Prep, P, S | All |
| Establishment of an acute respiratory illness clinic [Interviews] | Cost of setting up the ARI clinic (including renovation and signage). | - | - | Prep, P, S | Non |
| Renovation in non-COVID areas [Interviews] | Cost of installing access control and ventilation systems; thermometers; pulse oximeters. | - | Cost of moving supplies; temporary signage to direct foot traffic and separate COVID from non-COVID patients (externally sourced). | Prep, P, S | Non |
| Postponement of medical appointments [Interviews] | - | Nurses contacting patients to postpone appointments (1 shift, daily). | Cost of calling/texting patients (around 2,500–4,500 patients in April- May 2020), using the cost-per-call rate of 3 THB. | Prep, P | Non |
| Home delivery of drugs for NCD patients [Interviews] | - | Non-medical personnel packing and posting drugs to patient homes (n = 1, one shift per day). | Cost of mailing drugs to 1,250 patients, using the postage rate of 20 THB (rate for packages < 1 kilogram). | Prep, P, S | Non |
| Treatment and infection control | |||||
| Preparation and communications [12, 19, 23–14] | - | - | Meeting expenses, e.g., use of teleconference facilities and snacks during breaks. | Prep, P | R |
| Administrative costs [18, 21] | - | Overtime of personnel unrelated to direct patient care (Not documented). | - | Prep, P, S | R |
| Waste management [15, 16, 19, 21–23] | - | - | Cost of (toxic) waste disposal (externally sourced). | P, S | R |
| Screening: off-site and on-site [15, 16, 18, 19, 21–23, 25] | - | Physicians (n = 3) on an instant messaging ("Chatbot”) system; nurses (n = 8) asking about patients’ travel history. | Cost of acquiring an official account on the instant messaging system. | Prep, P, S | R |
a n = number of people involved in the activity
b Prep = Preparation; P = Pandemic; S = Standby
c COVID = COVID areas; Non = Non-COVID areas; Semi = Semi-COVID areas; R = Remaining areas; All = All areas