ABSTRACT
Increased use of assisted reproductive techniques (ART) has occurred in parallel with an unprecedented rise in the number of costly interventions available in medical care. The competition for limited funds has generated an acute awareness of health-care economics among clinicians concerned with the treatment of infertility. Economics involves the description and analysis of the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Health economics is a branch of economics that involves the financial impact of disease on the patient, the physician, society, or government. Health economics has become increasingly important in recent years because the demand for healthcare has expanded faster than the available monetary resources. Thus, there is a need for economic studies to identify efficient approaches that provide the greatest benefit for the least cost, while ensuring that there is an equitable distribution of resources. Economic evaluations of diagnosis and treatment protocols are designed to assess cost-effectiveness of alternative approaches, to gauge the impact of new methods on health-care resources, and to aid in policy decisions.1
