Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Economic Evaluation And Ebm, Glenn P. Salkeld

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

In the world of textbook economics, the "sovereign" consumer weighs up the (freely available) evidence on the costs, risks, harms and benefits before purchasing health care. The value that consumers then attach to the evidence and the expected outcomes is revealed through their purchasing decisions in the market. Ultimately, the consumer's decision represents the best or benefit maximising choice given the available information. The notion of this evidence-based market is however a long way from the reality of health care in Australia. Consumers (that is, patients) generally do not have current best evidence to hand. The same could be said …