Data on costs
Recently updated standards recommend that health economic evaluations present results from both a societal and a health care perspectiveTime and materials costs were based on actual resource use as registered in the study and monetarily valued mainly based on regional price tariffs. Details are presented in Table Unit costs.No discounting was applied due to the short-term character of the intervention.For both groups, the costs include hospital care days, outpatient re-visits, blood sampling, and consumables needed to use the Bilisoft equipment. We assumed no extra cost for the phototherapy equipment, as both groups used the same equipment for the same duration of treatment. Number of hospital care days is a measurement of the actual time spent in hospital. Length of stay was defined as time from the first to the last bilirubin test meaning that both in hospital and outpatient care is included. Duration of phototherapy was the actual time the patient spent on phototherapy. In this study, all families were admitted to a family room in the neonatal unit, but since phototherapy patients often are cared for in the maternity unit, we present estimates for both of these costs in the results.Transportation distance was based on the distance between the hospital and the families’ postcode. All families were assumed to travel by car. The number of round trips was registered in the study for both groups; the marginal cost per km traveled was based on the compensation offered by healthcare for car travel to and from the hospital for treatment. This might underestimate the real cost, as the full cost might not be covered. However, not all of those included in the study would have traveled by car as some lived near the hospital. Also, cost and expenses are not equal: fuel taxes are only transferred within the society and should therefore be excluded.No production loss was assumed, since both parents are allowed to claim compensation for caring for a sick child during treatment. This applies to both hospital and in-home phototherapy. Furthermore, no value or cost was assumed for time since there is no empirical evidence on the relative value of time spent at home, in hospital, or in transportation.