title: [Cost-effectiveness alone is not sufficient as basis for prioritization].
abstract: Cost-effectiveness has been suggested as the sole ethical basis for prioritization systems. The methods of health economics per se may be beneficial in decision making situations of various types. The structure of Finnish healthcare system and value-based choices associated with the application of cost-effectiveness make, however, utilizability more difficult than thought. Analysis of cost- effectiveness is worth using, but criteria and methods of decision making of health economics cannot be harnessed as tools for technocratic decision-making. Value-based choices should be subjected to wide public debate.
authors.affiliation: Pfizer Oy.
authors.forename: Juha
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Laine
mesh_terms: D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D003365:Costs and Cost Analysis; D003657:Decision Making; D003695:Delivery of Health Care / Q000191:economics*; D005387:Finland; D006292:Health Priorities; D006801:Humans; D062505:Value-Based Purchasing