ABSTRACT
This chapter considers how we measure outcomes and where health economists fit in. Although information about health service activity has always been available in some form, until recently comparatively little was known about the benefits or outcomes of many of the services provided. The evaluation of outcomes can be seen as part of a wider concern to manage resources more efficiently and improve the quality of services delivered. This development has been reflected in a move away from an overreliance on subjective judgements, where it has traditionally been assumed that doctors know what is best, to a more explicit and technical approach to the delivery of healthcare. Health economic evaluations use outcomes to facilitate the explicit and efficient use of limited healthcare resources by relating the outcomes of interventions to their costs. Within the formal economic framework, single index measures are required to enable direct comparisons to be made.
