Health Economics
Healthcare policy makers are frequently required to meet increasing service demands with limited financial budgets.
Clinical research is often carried out to determine the efficacy of a policy or intervention by measuring the effect it has on patient outcomes.
However, effectiveness alone is not always enough to justify the use of a policy or a technology. For example, when the most effective intervention is also the most expensive, it may not be financially possible to treat every patient.
Health economics addresses this issue by providing healthcare policy makers with estimates of how cost effective a health care policy or intervention is, a process called economic evaluation.
An economic evaluation compares treatment options by gathering and assessing data on their costs and their effect on health outcomes. This typically involves determining the resources needed to deliver an intervention compared to alternative interventions, the benefits and risks to patients, and any savings to future health or social care. The results of the evaluation are then used by health care policy makers to decide which interventions to adopt.
LRiG has over two decades' experience of working on economic evaluations for Health Technology Assessment (HTA) on behalf of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence.
The health economists at LRiG have a wealth of experience of teaching health economic principles to a range of audiences including students, healthcare professionals, statisticians and systematic reviewers. Bespoke workshops or training programmes can be developed. We can provide advice on the design of the health economic component of studies and we provide economic support to the Liverpool Clinical Trials Unit.
Recent Health Economics publications
Lead-I ECG for detecting atrial fibrillation in patients with an irregular pulse using single time point testing: a systematic review and economic evaluation
The research was commissioned and funded by the HTA programme on behalf of NICE as project number 16/30/05. Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common type of cardiac arrhythmia and is associated with an increased risk of stroke and congestive heart failure. Lead-I electrocardiogram (ECG) devices are handheld instruments that can be used to detect AF at a single time point in people who present withrelevant signs or symptoms. This study aimed to assess whether or not the use of lead-I ECGs in GP surgeries could benefit these patients and offer good value for money to the NHS.
Health Technology Assessment. 2020; 24 (3). Rui Duarte. Janette Greenhalgh, Marty Chaplin, Sarah Nevitt, Angela Boland.
A systematic review of health state utility values for thyroid cancer
Health state utility values are commonly used to inform economic evaluations and determine the cost-effectiveness of an intervention. This systematic review summarises the utility values available to represent the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of patients with thyroid cancer for use in the economic modelling of thyroid cancer. By including mapped values, this approach broadens the scope of health states that can be considered within cost-effectiveness modelling.
Quality of Life Research. 2020; 30, 675–702. Rachel Houten. Nigel Fleeman, Angela Boland., Tosin Lambe. Rui Duarte.
A Systematic Review of Economic Evaluations Reporting the Cost-Effectiveness of Spinal Cord Stimulation
Spinal cord stimulation (SCS) is a recognized treatment for chronic pain. This systematic review assesses economic evaluations of SCS for the management of all chronic pain conditions, summarises key findings, and assesses the quality of studies to inform healthcare resource allocation decisions and future research. The results consistently suggested that SCS is cost-effective when considering a long-term time horizon, particularly for the management of (FBSS) and complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS). Further studies are needed to assess the cost-effectiveness of SCS for ischemic pain and diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN).
Value Health. 2020; 23, 665. Rui Duarte.
For more examples see our Publications page.