title: Rationing health care resources. Is the quality-adjusted life-year a helpful guide?
abstract: The quality-adjusted life-year, an economic tool for allocating health care resources, lets researchers compare the cost-effectiveness of different therapies for virtually any disease. It purports to describe quantity of life, with an adjustment for quality of life, as a function of financial cost. Its goal is to maximize health care efficiency, but its methodology does not adequately meet the needs of older patients.
authors.affiliation: Vancouver General Hospital, Short Term Assessment and Treatment Centre.
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Warren
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D017048:Health Care Costs; D015276:Health Care Rationing / Q000191:economics; D006291:Health Policy; D006292:Health Priorities; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D011315:Preventive Medicine / Q000191:economics; D011788:Quality of Life; D040841:Resource Allocation; D012945:Social Values; D026712:Value of Life