The Department of Health has recently published a register of economic evaluations of health care treatments and programmes. The objective of the register is to assist health care decision makers in assessing the value for money from alternative ways of allocation scarce resources. If the...

In recent years it has become fashionable to make comparisons (in 'league tables' or rankings) between health care interventions in terms of their relative cost-effectiveness, in cost per life-year or cost per quality-adjusted life-year gained. However, concerns have been raised about the...

Although there has been a shift toward treatment in the home and the community, in the UK, inpatient facilities are still important in modern mental health care. ‘Informal carers’, including family members, often play an essential role, not only in providing care in the community but also in...

This century has seen a phenomenal growth in the development, understanding and use of pharmaceuticals. Additionally, this period has seen the balance of the treatment needs of patients shift dramatically from infectious to cardiovascular and cancer diseases, and from infancy and middle-age to...