Towards Digital Healthcare Services Activity-Based Costing and Value Measurement Framework

With the rapid advancements of digital technology, the healthcare industry has the potential to make significant strides toward value-based care, which focuses on achieving better outcomes while optimizing costs. Value-based healthcare benefits various stakeholders, including patients, healthcare providers, society, payers, and suppliers. However, the current healthcare system remains predominantly decentralized, specialized, and reliant on stand-alone service payment models. This necessitates a scholarly examination of how digital technologies can facilitate the transition from fragmented care to a value-based approach in healthcare. Addressing this need, our research aims to explore the application of activity-based costing in the context of progressing toward value-based digital healthcare services. In response, we propose a unique digital healthcare services activity-based costing framework. Drawing insights from an extensive analysis of existing literature and robust modeling, our framework centers around a multi-sided patient pathway, integrating digital healthcare services into a unified value chain. By doing so, our study contributes to the healthcare management literature by presenting a novel framework tailored for use by healthcare decision-makers. Embracing such innovations could foster a more cohesive, efficient, and patient-centric healthcare system.