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Incorporating Economic Evaluation into Implementation Science

A recently published collection of articles in Implementation Science and Implementation Science Communications featured several QUERI investigators and staff, highlighting strategies and examples to inform the field. Partly funded by VA and organized by Drs. Heather Gold, Gila Neta, and Todd Wagner (Director, HSR&D’s Health Economics Resource Center), this collection helps to bridge the fields of implementation science, health services research, and health economics – and improve informed decision-making. 

Articles included in this collection by QUERI investigators include:

• The economics of adaptations to evidence-based practices by Ramzi Salloum, PhD, and colleagues, including Dr. Todd Wagner and HSR&D/QUERI investigator Amanda Midboe, PhD, discusses the increasing importance of understanding the economic implications of adapting evidence-based practices to fit a particular setting or local context, in addition to the impact of adaptations on clinical effectiveness.
• The cost data in implementation science: Categories and approaches to costing by Heather Gold and colleagues, including Todd Wagner, explains why implementation scientists should consider a broad range of cost categories when assessing the economic implications of strategies for implementing evidence-based care—and measures the costs relevant to the choice of analytic perspective(s), time horizon(s), and outcomes.

HERC: Economic Evaluation Resource

The Health Economics Resource Center (HERC) leads VA efforts to identify best practices and develop resources and tools for economic evaluation, and also serves as a QUERI resource in implementation science. HERC resources and services include:

• Helping VA investigators determine the cost of VA care, assess cost-effectiveness, and evaluate the efficacy of VA programs and providers.
• Offering trainings to help VA investigators learn about cost data and economic evaluation.
• Providing a consulting service for VA investigators, policymakers, and operational leaders.

In addition, HERC facilitates the Cost and Implementation Workgroup, which is comprised of more than 90 implementation scientists and economists across the nation.

HERC can help provide an understanding of the costs for implementing an evidence-based practice, as well as the business case for spreading it to other sites for sustained use. QUERI investigators may contact HERC (herc@va.gov) for a telephone consultation on the economic methods for their QUERI projects.