Economic Evaluation in Health Care: The Point of View of Informed Physicians

AbstractObjectivesWe investigated health professionals with a solid background in health-care management and economics to get their opinion and attitude on the use of economic evaluation at the policy, organizational, and professional levels of decision-making.MethodsA 12-item questionnaire was sent to 374 Italian health-care professionals who received training in economic evaluation of health-care programs in the last 10 years at the Bocconi School of Management, Milan, Italy.ResultsThe response rate was 46.8% (175 questionnaires). All respondents stated that the basics of economic evaluation analysis must be part of the overall knowledge of health-care professionals. The usefulness of economic evaluation for professional activities was rated 3.83 (scale 1–5). Respondents stated that economic evaluation is used more for managerial decisions than for clinical ones (mean 2.89 vs. 2.74, P = 0.09). “Decisions are taken according to a short-term perspective” was the most frequently reported barrier for the actual use of economic evaluation studies, particularly by managers (76.7%). “More training in health economics” was indicated as the incentive to expand its use by the majority of both clinicians and managers (64.6%). Significantly more managers than clinicians (74.4% vs. 54.1%, P = 0.005) considered that the maximum benefits of economic evaluation are reaped at organizational level.ConclusionsInformed Italian health professionals have a positive attitude toward the principles and the techniques of economic evaluation. They show appreciation of their potential role and report making some use of them in actual decision making