Before building a model or collecting data, the decision to be supported must be clarified. Good scoping avoids unnecessary analysis and strengthens the value of the final deliverable.
Start with the decision, not the model
The first question is not: which model should be built? It is: which decision must be informed? Reimbursement, prioritization, local adoption, payer discussion, HTA dossier, or budget arbitration do not always require the same approach.
Clarifying this question helps avoid analyses that are too broad, too technical, or insufficiently useful.
Define the perspective and comparator
The perspective determines which costs and consequences should be included: payer, health system, hospital, society, or program. The comparator defines the relevant alternative against which the intervention will be assessed.
These two choices structure the entire analysis and should be justified from the start.
Identify available data and gaps
Strong scoping maps available clinical, economic, epidemiological, budget, and quality-of-life data. It also identifies gaps and proposes defensible assumptions.
This step anticipates uncertainty instead of discovering it too late.
Clarify the expected evidence standard
Not every mandate requires the same level of detail. An exploratory note, an internal decision analysis, a reimbursement dossier, and an HTA submission do not involve the same standards, timelines, or documentation requirements.
Defining this evidence standard from the start helps calibrate analytical effort, mandate budget, and deliverable format.
Anticipate who will use the deliverable
A deliverable prepared for senior leadership will not be designed like a model intended for technical analysts or a synthesis prepared for an assessment committee. Each audience expects a different level of detail, transparency, and language.
Scoping should therefore clarify who will use the results, within what timeline, and for which concrete decision.
Align deliverables with use
A model, technical note, executive summary, or strategic presentation do not serve the same purpose. The format should fit the audience and the decision.
Santicxis supports this scoping work so that economic evaluation produces useful, readable, decision-ready deliverables.