My Vision of Health Economics
Health economics is an applied science that is concerned with the efficient use of scarce resources in the health care system. An economic evaluation of health and social programs should provide robust and reliable evidence for the cost-effectiveness of alternatives to help decision makers make knowledgeable decisions.
A Health Economic evaluation should always:
- Help the decision-making process by providing reliable information on the cost-effectiveness of all possible options.
- Communicate effectively the economic evidence to the appropriate audiences.
- Focus on the burden of disease, patient perspective?, and health outcomes and quality of life (often called ‘benefits’), as they are the primary interests of the healthcare system. Patients and healthcare decisions should form the basis of the analysis.
- Evaluate the cost to patients, the health care system, and society. Compare the efficacy/effectiveness of the options with appropriate ratios, and assure the robustness and reliability of the results.