Economic evaluation in cardiology

Abstract

For a variety of reasons, the demand and supply of healthcare services is changing daily and expenditure on healthcare services is increasing with rates well above those of the gross domestic product in most countries, regardless of geography, economic development, and population health status. As resources are scarce, it is necessary to ensure that they are allocated in uses that maximize overall health societal benefit. Economic evaluation of healthcare technologies and interventions is a tool designed to assist decision makers in allocating budgets in ways that will maximize value for money spent. This paper explains the economic approach from the perspective of cardiology.