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An update on cost-effectiveness analysis in critical care

2002; Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; Volume: 8; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1097/00075198-200208000-00011

1531-7072

Andrew F. Shorr,

Healthcare Decision-Making and Restraints

Critical care providers are under increasing pressure to be attentive to cost concerns. The ICU consumes a significant amount of resources and, as such, is a frequently identified target of efforts to limit escalating healthcare costs. Attempts to reduce costs need not progress in a haphazard fashion. Rather, they can proceed in a logical, systematic manner with the assistance of formal economic studies. Cost-effectiveness analysis is one tool for these projects-it allows physicians to compare the financial consequences of different approaches to resource allocation. ICU physicians, therefore, must become familiar with the basic concepts that underlie cost-effectiveness analysis. Cost-effectiveness analyses that address many different aspects of critical care delivery are now commonly found in the critical care literature. With a framework for evaluating these studies, clinicians can better apply their findings to their own institutions.