There is a growing reliance on all health care workers to understand and practice economic evaluation. This comprehensive book written in jargon-free language provides a basic introduction to the subject. It succeeds in explaining both the principles of economic evaluation and how to use them. The second edition has been revised throughout and now includes a chapter on decision making, which explains the tools of systematic reviewing so bringing the book right up to date.

The purpose of economic evaluations in healthcare is to affect decision making. So how do you determine the best use of scarce resources, in terms of benefits gained from expenditures? The purpose of this book is to review the methods of economic evaluation and how they may be used optimally, and with practical results. It includes review articles on familiar analytical tools, opinion papers on areas of contention, and guidelines on how to apply and analyse economics tools, methods and models.

The purpose of economic evaluation is to inform decisions intended to improve healthcare. The new edition of Methods for the Economic Evaluation of Health Care Programmes equips the reader with the necessary tools and understanding required to undertake evaluations by providing an outline of key principles and a 'tool kit' based on the authors' own experiences of undertaking economic evaluations. Building on the strength of the previous edition, the accessible writing style ensures the text is key reading for the non-expert reader, as no prior knowledge of economics is required. The book employs a critical appraisal framework, which is useful both to researchers conducting studies and to decision-makers assessing them. Practical examples are provided throughout to aid learning and understanding. The book discusses the analytical and policy challenges that face health systems in seeking to allocate resources efficiently and fairly. New chapters include 'Principles of economic evaluation' and 'Making decisions in healthcare' which introduces the reader to core issues and questions about resource allocation, and provides an understanding of the fundamental principles which guide decision making. A key part of evidence-based decision making is the analysis of all the relevant evidence to make informed decisions and policy. The new chapter 'Identifying, synthesising and analysing evidence' highlights the importance of systematic review, and how and why these methods are used. As methods of analysis continue to develop, the chapter on 'Characterising, reporting and interpreting uncertainty' introduces the reader to recent methods of analysis and why characterizing uncertainty matters for health care decisions. The fourth edition of Methods for the Economic Evaluation of Health Care Programmes has been thoroughly revised and updated, making it essential reading for anyone commissioning, undertaking, or using economic evaluations in health care, including health service professionals, health economists, and health care decision makers.

"This book is an introduction to economic evaluation for those with little or no knowledge of economics or health economics. Essentials of Economic Evaluation in Healthcare gives an overview of economic issues specific to healthcare, and describes the main types of economic evaluation: cost effectiveness, cost utility and cost benefit analysis. The use of decision analysis to design and carry out economic evaluations is discussed. Preferred statistical methods for handling costs, current approaches to dealing with uncertainty and quantifying patient preferences using discrete choice experiments are explained. Each chapter contains worked examples and questions. With increasing pressure on national healthcare budgets, all healthcare professionals should have a basic understanding of the finite nature of healthcare resources, and the need to make choices between treatments based on a cost-benefit comparison. This book will be invaluable to pharmacists and pharmacy students as well as to other healthcare professionals, researchers and managers." -- publisher website.

To accompany the hugely sccessful 'Methods for Economic Evaluation of Health Care Programmes 2e', this book is a thorough and rigourous discussion of the methodological principles and recent advances in the rapidly advancing field of theory and practice of economic evaluation in health care. Written by an internationally acclaimed group of authors, the book provides an in-depth discussion of the latest theoretical advances and gives comprehensive reviews of the available literature. The book covers the main areas of economic evaluation, including the methods for measuring costs and outcomes, the collection of data alongside clinical studies, ways of handling uncertainty, discounting and issues relating to the transferability of economic data. It is an ideal book for those studying economic evaluation on postgraduate or professional courses in health economics or public health.

Since its publication in 1987, Methods for the economic evaluation of health care programmes has become the standard textbook in this field world-wide. Over the past ten years, the field of economic evaluation in health care has expanded considerably, with a rapid rise in the number of published studies, and wider recognition of their use in health care decision-making. Developments in economic evaluation have also led to the publication of several guidelines for study methodology, most recently those proposed by the United States Public Health Services Panel. The new edition of Methods for the economic evaluation of health care programmes follows the same basic structure as the first edition. The key methodological principles are outlined using a critical appraisal checklist that can be applied to any published study. The methodological features of the basic forms of analysis (cost analysis, cost-effectiveness analysis, cost-utility analysis, and cost-benefit analysis) are then explained in more detail. The book has been greatly revised and enlarged, especially with respect to cost-utility and cost- benefit analysis, where major methodological developments have taken place. New to this edition are chapters on collecting and analysing data, and presenting and using economic evaluation results. The new edition will be required reading for anyone commissioning, undertaking, or using economic evaluations in health care, and will be popular with health service professionals, health economists, and health-care decision makers. Reviews of the first edition: 'An important contribution to studies on the economic evaluation of medical care...' (British Medical Journal) 'This is essential reading. Only if all managers are aware of the powers of economic techniques will they be used sensibly' (The Health Service Journal (UK) 'The methodological chapters on cost analysis and cost utility analysis are gems... should become the standard text on the subject at the intermediate level at which it is aimed.' (Medical Decision Making) 'It leaves nothing important in economic evaluation analysis untouched.' (Health Policy and Planning)

In today's world of scare resources, determining the optimal allocation of funds to preventive health care interventions (PHIs) is a challenge. The upfront investments needed must be viewed as long term projects, the benefits of which we will experience in the future. The long term positive change to PHIs from economic investment can be seen across multiple sectors such as health care, education, employment and beyond. Applied Health Economics for Public Health Practice and Research is the fifth in the series of Handbooks in Health Economic Evaluation. It presents new research on health economics methodology and application to the evaluation of public health interventions. Looking at traditional as well as novel methods of economic evaluation, the book covers the history of economics of public health and the economic rationale for government investment in prevention. In addition, it looks at principles of health economics, evidence synthesis, key methods of economic evaluation with accompanying case studies, and much more. Looking to the future, Applied Health Economics for Public Health Practice and Research presents priorities for research in the field of public health economics. It acknowledges the role played by natural environment in promoting better health, and the place of genetics, environment and socioeconomic status in determining population health. Ideal for health economists, public health researchers, local government workers, health care professionals, and those responsible for health policy development. Applied Health Economics for Public Health Practice and Research is an important contribution to the economic discussion of public health and resource allocation.

Health economics is concerned with the evaluation of the effectiveness of health care, particularly by examining the social opportunity costs of alternative forms of treatment. The peculiar nature of the market for health care – that doctors have a major influence on both supply and demand -.has attracted attention, as has the study of the options available for financing such services. Economic Analysis in Health Care provides a comprehensive coverage of both the economics of health care systems and the evaluation of health care technologies. It has been written as a core textbook for advanced undergraduate and postgraduate students with knowledge of economic analysis and will appeal to an international audience. Adopts an international perspective, using examples and case studies from the UK, the rest of Europe, and other countries. Contains detailed exposition of the economic theory alongside relevant examples and applications Focuses on both market-related and economic evaluation aspects of health economics (some books focus purely on market-related aspects) Strong author team with very broad experience of writing and teaching health economics

There are not enough resources in health care systems around the world to fund all technically feasible and potentially beneficial health care interventions. Difficult choices have to be made, and economic evaluation offers a systematic and transparent process for informing such choices. A key component of economic evaluation is how to value the benefits of health care in a way that permits comparison between health care interventions, such as through costs per quality-adjusted life years (QALY). Measuring and Valuing Health Benefits for Economic Evaluation examines the measurement and valuation of health benefits, reviews the explosion of theoretical and empirical work in the field, and explores an area of research that continues to be a major source of debate. It addresses the key questions in the field including: the definition of health, the techniques of valuation, who should provide the values, techniques for modelling health state values, the appropriateness of tools in children and vulnerable groups, cross cultural issues, and the problem of choosing the right instrument. This new edition contains updated empirical examples and practical applications, which help to clarify the readers understanding of real world contexts. It features a glossary containing the common terms used by practitioners, and has been updated to cover new measures of health and wellbeing, such as ICECAP, ASCOT and AQOL. It takes into account new research into the social weighting of a QALY, the rising use of ordinal valuation techniques, use of the internet to collect data, and the use of health state utility values in cost effectiveness models. This is an ideal resource for anyone wishing to gain a specialised understanding of health benefit measurement in economic evaluation, especially those working in the fields of health economics, public sector economics, pharmacoeconomics, health services research, public health, and quality of life research.

There are so many ways in which health might be improved today and, as technology improves, the opportunities will increase. However, there are limits to budgets as well as other resources so choices have to be made about what to spend money and time on. Economic evaluation can help set out the value of the costs and benefits from competing choices. This book examines how to undertake economic evaluation of health care interventions in low, middle and high income countries. It covers: Ways in which economic evaluations might be structured Approaches to measuring and valuing costs and effects Interpreting and presenting evidence Appraising the quality and usefulness of economic evaluations Series Editors: Rosalind Plowman and Nicki Thorogood.