Implementation of value-based initiatives depends on cost-assessment methods that can provide high-quality cost information. Time-driven activity-based costing (TDABC) is increasingly being used to solve the cost-information gap. This study aimed to review the use of the TDABC methodology in real-world settings and to estimate its impact on the value-based healthcare concept for inpatient management. This systematic review was conducted by screening PubMed/MEDLINE and Scopus databases following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines, including all studies up to August 2019. The use of TDABC for inpatient management was the main eligibility criterion. A qualitative approach was used to analyze the different methodological aspects of TDABC and its effective contribution to the implementation of value-based initiatives. A total of 1066 studies were retrieved, and 26 full-text articles were selected for review. Only studies focused on surgical inpatient conditions were identified. Most of the studies reported the types of activities on a macrolevel. Professional and structural cost variables were usually assessed. Eighteen studies reported that TDABC contributed to value-based initiatives, especially cost-saving findings. TDABC was satisfactorily applied to achieve value-based contributions in all the studies that used the method for this purpose. TDABC could be a strategy for increasing cost accuracy in real-world settings, and the method could help in the transition from fee-for-service to value-based systems. The results could provide a clearer idea of the costs, help with resource allocation and waste reduction, and might support clinicians and managers in increasing value in a more accurate and transparent way. •The greatest contributions to value-based initiatives achieved by the use of time-driven activity-based costing (TDABC) are care-cycle optimization throughout the care trajectory and the identification of care benchmarks that can facilitate health system improvement opportunities.•TDABC could be a strategy to increase cost accuracy in real-world settings, and it could help in the transition from fee-for-service to value-based systems through its capability to contribute to cost savings.•In a healthcare system that is continually marked by extensive waste, the application of innovative methods that contribute to the redesign of healthcare services delivery to make them more effective is necessary.•The health system can benefit from using cost management methods such as TDABC, because opportunities to facilitate patients’ access to the healthcare system are more effectively and safely achieved through the redesign of patients’ course of care trajectory.