Theory and Methods of Economic Evaluation of Health Care

This volume describes the theory and methods of economic evaluation of health care. Currently, most economic evaluations of health care programs are cost-effectiveness and cost-utility analyses, while in the environmental and traffic safety fields it is common to carry out instead traditional cost-benefit analysis of health improving programs. This striking difference in how health programs are assessed in different fields was the original motivation for writing this book. Theory and Methods of Economic Evaluation of Health Care shows how the costs and benefits of health care programs can be defined and measured using welfare economic theory. Also, considerable attention is devoted to cost-effectiveness and cost-utility analysis where the health effects are measured in non-monetary units, thus providing a unifying cost-benefit framework for all methods of economic evaluation. Finally, the problems and potentials of using economic evaluation in policy making are also discussed. The book is written in an easily accessible manner and provides numerous examples of applications of the different methods. It will be an invaluable source for both instructors and practitioners in the health care field.