Cost-benefit analysis of ambulance and rescue helicopters in Norway: reflections on assigning a monetary value to saving a human life.
This paper reports the results of a cost-benefit analysis undertaken in 1996 for a public commission set up to plan the future operation of state-owned ambulance and rescue helicopters in Norway. The analysis indicates that the benefits of ambulance missions flown by helicopters exceeds the costs by a factor of almost six. To do this analysis it was necessary to assign a monetary value to human life. Traditionally this has not been done in medicine, and may be widely regarded as inconsistent with medical ethics. The results of the cost-benefit analysis serve as the starting point to a more general discussion surrounding the economic value of activities designed to reduce human mortality. It is concluded that human preferences for the provision of health care or other life-saving interventions are probably too complex to be adequately represented by means of a single monetary value expressing the benefits of life-saving. The task of developing an inclusive framework for a normative approach to priority setting in injury prevention is daunting, and may be insoluble. It is important to assess the extent to which current value-of-life estimates depend on study methods and social context.
Elvik
Rune
R
Institute of Transport Economics, PO Box 6110, Etterstad, N-0602 Oslo, Norway. Rune.Elvik@toi.no
D017732:Air Ambulances / Q000191:economics*; D000552:Ambulances / Q000191:economics*; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis / Q000941:ethics; D017598:Efficiency, Organizational; D006801:Humans; D009664:Norway; D011788:Quality of Life; D018635:Rescue Work / Q000191:economics; D015996:Survival Rate; D014187:Transportation of Patients / Q000191:economics / Q000379:methods; D026712:Value of Life / Q000191:economics*