This paper critically reviews theoretical and empirical propositions regarding visual analogue scale (VAS) valuations of health states and their use in cost-utility analysis (CUA). A widely repeated assertion in the economic evaluation literature is the inferiority, on theoretical grounds, of...

The decisions made by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) give rise to two questions: how is cost-effectiveness evidence used to make judgements about the 'value for money' of health technologies? And how are factors other than cost-effectiveness taken into account? The aim of...

No Abstract

The London Patient Choice Project (LPCP) was established to offer NHS patients more choice over where and when they receive treatment, and to reduce waiting times. The LPCP offered those patients waiting around 6 months for elective procedures a choice of treatment at an alternative NHS or...

New Zealand, like most other developed economies, has struggled to establish the best way of organising and delivering publicly financed health care services. Before the 1990s, hospitals and some related services were planned and provided by regionally based, locally elected health boards. This...

Granger causality is tested for to examine the exogeneity of GDP which is assumed in previous research on the determinants of aggregate health care spending. In theory, the causal relationship between these variables could be in either or both directions. For some of the 20 OECD countries tested...

Background: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) emphasises that cost-effectiveness is not the only consideration in health technology appraisal and is increasingly explicit about other factors considered relevant. Observing NICE decisions and the evidence considered in...