Economic evaluation of interventions in health care.

Abstract

Economic evaluation is rapidly becoming an invaluable tool for healthcare decision making, especially in light of current pressures on health services to reduce costs and increase expenditure on health care. This article provides an overview of the main methods used for the economic evaluation of healthcare interventions, and their applications and limitations. It is intended as an introduction to the topic for readers with no background in economics, and can be used to review the basic concepts of economic evaluation in healthcare provision.