The growing importance of cost-effectiveness in oncologic practice.
In an era of increasing cost containment in health care, it has become extremely important to allocate resources as efficiently as possible. This implies that formal health economic considerations are taken into account. One area of increasing importance is the field of economic appraisal, which allows the monetary value of medical interventions to be quantified. This type of research is extremely useful in the field of supportive care of cancer patients. In addition to economic considerations, social, political, and ethical issues must also be addressed. Finally, the sum of these activities will enable us to make better choices in health care, and ensure that sufficient resources are allocated to supportive cancer treatment.
Center for Pharmacoeconomics, School of Pharmacy, University of Milan, Italy.
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D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D006801:Humans; D008495:Medical Oncology / Q000191:economics*; D012106:Research / Q000191:economics