Toggle Main Menu Toggle Search

Open Access padlockePrints

Economic evaluation of integrated new technologies for health and social care: Suggestions for policy makers, users and evaluators

Lookup NU author(s): Professor John WildmanORCiD

Downloads


Licence

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND).


Abstract

With an ageing population there is a move towards the use of assisted living technologies (ALTs) to provide social care and health care services, and to improve service processes. These technologies are at the forefront of the integration of health and social care. However, economic evaluations of ALTs, and indeed economic evaluations of any interventions providing both health benefits and benefits beyond health are complex. This paper considers the challenges faced by evaluators and presents a method of economic evaluation for use with interventions where traditional methods may not be suitable for informing funders and decision makers. We propose a method, combining economic evaluation techniques, that can accommodate health outcomes and outcomes beyond health through the use of a common numeraire. Such economic evaluations can benefit both the public and private sector, firstly by ensuring the efficient allocation of resources. And secondly, by providing information for individuals who, in the market for ALTs, face consumption decisions that are infrequent and for which there may be no other sources of information. We consider these issues in the welfarist, extra-welfarist and capabilities framework, which we link to attributes in an individual production model. This approach allows for the valuation of the health component of any such intervention and the valuation of key social care attributes and processes. Finally, we present a set of considerations for evaluators highlighting the key issues that need to be considered in this type of economic evaluation.


Publication metadata

Author(s): Wildman J, McMeekin P, Grieve E, Briggs A

Publication type: Article

Publication status: Published

Journal: Social Science and Medicine

Year: 2016

Volume: 169

Pages: 141-148

Print publication date: 01/11/2016

Online publication date: 24/09/2016

Acceptance date: 23/09/2016

Date deposited: 23/09/2016

ISSN (print): 0277-9536

ISSN (electronic): 1873-5347

Publisher: Pergamon Press

URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2016.09.033

DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2016.09.033


Altmetrics

Altmetrics provided by Altmetric


Share