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Postgraduate Medical Journal 2003;79:147-150; doi:10.1136/pmj.79.929.147
© 2003 BMJ Publishing Group Ltd and The Fellowship of Postgraduate Medicine.
Postgraduate Medical Journal 2003;79:147-150
© 2003 Fellowship of Postgraduate Medicine

REVIEW

Introduction to health economics for the medical practitioner

D P Kernick

Correspondence to:
Correspondence to:
Dr D P Kernick, St Thomas’ Medical Group, Cowick Street, Exeter EX4 1HJ, UK;
su1838{at}eclipse.co.uk

Against a background of increasing demands on limited resources, health economics is exerting an influence on decision making at all levels of health care. Health economics seeks to facilitate decision making by offering an explicit decision making framework based on the principle of efficiency. It is not the only consideration but it is an important one and practitioners will need to have an understanding of its basic principles and how it can impact on clinical decision making. This article reviews some of the basic principles of health economics and in particular economic evaluation.

Keywords: health economics; economic evaluation

Abbreviations: GP, general practitioner; QALY, quality adjusted life year


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