Skip to main content
Log in

Towards Cost-Value Analysis in Health Care?

  • Published:
Health Care Analysis Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

By describing societal value judgements in health care in numerical terms one may in theory increase the precision of guidelines for priority setting and allow decision makers to judge more accurately the degree to which different health care programs provide societal value for money. However, valuing health programs in terms of QALYs disregards salient societal concerns for fairness in resource allocation. A different kind of numerical valuation of medical interventions, that incorporates concerns for fairness, is described. The usefulness to decision makers of such numerical information remains to be tested.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Campbell, A. and Gillett, G. (1993) Justice and the Right to Health Care. In Ethical Issues in Defining Core Services. Wellington: The National Advisory Committee on Core Health and Disability Support Services. 175

    Google Scholar 

  • Culyer, A.J., Lavers, R.J. and Williams, A. (1971) Social Indicators: Health. Social Trends 2, 31–42.

    Google Scholar 

  • Daniels, N. (1985) Just Health Care. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dolan, P. (1998) The Measurement of Individual Utility and SocialWelfare. Journal of Health Economics 17, 39–52.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Dolan, P. and Cookson, R. (1998) Measuring Preferences over the Distribution of Health Benefits, Mimeo. University of York: Centre for Health Economics.

    Google Scholar 

  • Menzel, P. (1990) Strong Medicine. New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Murray, C. and Lopez, A. (1996) The Global Burden of Disease. Harvard University Press.

  • Nord, E. (1992) An Alternative to QALYs: The Saved Young Life Equivalent (SAVE). B.Med. J. 305, 875–877.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Nord, E. (1993) The Trade-Off Between Severity of Illness and Treatment Effect in Cost-Value Analysis of Health Care. Health Policy 24, 227–238.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Nord, E. (1995) The Person Trade-Off Approach to Valuing Health Care Programs. Medical Decision Making 15, 201–208.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Nord, E. (1996) Health Status Index Models for Use in Resource Allocation Decisions. A Critical Review in the Light of Observed Preferences for Social Choice. International Journal of Technology Assessment in Health Care 12, 31–44.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Nord, E., Richardson, J., Street, A., Singer, P. and Kuhse, H. (1995) Maximising Health Benefits versus Egalitarianism: An Australian Survey of Health Issues. Social Science & Medicine 41, 1429–1437.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Nord, E., Pinto, J.L., Richardson, J., Menzel, P. and Ubel, P. (1999) Incorporating Societal Concerns for Fairness in Numerical Valuations of Health Programs.Health Economics 8, 25–39.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Norwegian Commission for Prioritising in Health Care (1987) Retningslinjer for prioritering innen helsevesenet (Guidelines for Prioritising in Health Care). NOU, Vol. 23. Oslo: Universitetsforlaget.

    Google Scholar 

  • Olsen, J.A. (1994) Persons vs Years: Two Ways of Eliciting Implicit Weights. Health Economics 3, 39–46.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Oregon Health Services Commission (1991) Prioritization of Health Services. A Report to the Governor and Legislature. Salem, Oregon.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pinto Prades, José-Luis (1997) Is the Person Trade-Off a Valid Method for Allocating Health Care Resources? Health Economics 6, 71–81.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sintonen, H. (1981) An Approach to Measuring and Valuing Health States. Soc. Sci. & Med. 15c, 55–65.

    Google Scholar 

  • Torrance, G.W. (1986) Measurement of Health State Utilities for Economic Appraisal. Journal of Health Economics 5, 1–30.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ubel, P.A., Kamlet, M., Scanlon, D. and Loewenstein, G. (1996) Individual Utilities are Inconsistent with Rationing Choices: A Partial Explanation ofWhy Oregon's Cost-Effectiveness List Failed. Medica Decision Making 16, 108–119.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Williams, A. (1988) Ethics and Efficiency in the Provision of Health Care. In J.M. Bell and S. Mendus (Eds.), Philosophy and Medical Welfare. Cambridge University Press.

  • Williams, A. (1997) Intergenerational Equity: An Exploration of the ‘Fair Innings’ Argument. Health Economics 6, 117–132.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Nord, E. Towards Cost-Value Analysis in Health Care?. Health Care Analysis 7, 167–175 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1009489122094

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1009489122094

Navigation