{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,16]],"date-time":"2026-01-16T21:16:54Z","timestamp":1768598214767,"version":"3.49.0"},"reference-count":46,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"1","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,16]],"date-time":"2026-01-16T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1768521600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Portuguese national funds through FCT\u2014Funda\u00e7\u00e3o para a Ci\u00eancia e Tecnologia","award":["UID\/05422\/2025"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["UID\/05422\/2025"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Administrative Sciences"],"abstract":"<jats:p>The growing economic pressures on healthcare systems have heightened the need for effective and sustainable cost management strategies. This study presents a PRISMA-based systematic review of 210 peer-reviewed articles published between 1974 and 2024, retrieved from the Scopus and Web of Science databases. Following a structured selection and screening process, the articles were analysed to identify dominant cost control tools, contextual applications, and methodological trends across diverse health systems. The findings highlight a strong prevalence of Activity-Based Costing (ABC), Diagnosis-Related Groups (DRG), and benchmarking practices, predominantly in public hospital settings. However, significant thematic gaps remain, particularly concerning low-income countries, interdisciplinary integration, and the evaluation of digital technologies for financial optimisation. This review provides a comprehensive thematic synthesis of international research, consolidating knowledge in healthcare cost management and offering evidence-based recommendations to guide future empirical research, policy design, and strategic planning in health finance.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/admsci16010046","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,16]],"date-time":"2026-01-16T09:28:12Z","timestamp":1768555692000},"page":"46","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Cost Management in Healthcare: A PRISMA-Based Systematic Review of International Research"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"16","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0004-2493-3355","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Sofia Nair","family":"Barbosa","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Business Sciences, REMIT (Research on Economics Management and Information Technologies), Portucalente Infante D. Henrique University, Asprela, 4200-072 Porto, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8366-9863","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Am\u00e9lia Cristina Ferreira","family":"Silva","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Accounting and Administration, Instituto Superior de Contabilidade e Administra\u00e7\u00e3o do Porto, CEOS.PP (Centro de Estudos Organizacionais e Sociais.Polit\u00e9cnico do Porto), S\u00e3o Mamede Infeste, 4465-004 Porto, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1292-6201","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Isabel","family":"Maldonado","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Accounting and Administration, Instituto Superior de Contabilidade e Administra\u00e7\u00e3o do Porto, CEOS.PP (Centro de Estudos Organizacionais e Sociais.Polit\u00e9cnico do Porto), S\u00e3o Mamede Infeste, 4465-004 Porto, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6965-3435","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Pedro","family":"Gaspar","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Economic and Management, REMIT (Research on Economics Management and Information Technologies), Portucalente Infante D. 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