Social values and health priority setting in England: “values” based decision making
Journal of Health Organization and Management
ISSN: 1477-7266
Article publication date: 15 June 2012
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the organisational and procedural arrangements for priority setting in England and Wales. It describes the role of social values in the decision‐making process.
Design/methodology/approach
The processes and content of decisions made by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence are analysed using the framework developed by Clark and Weale for identifying social values in health priority‐setting.
Findings
While countries are seeking to achieve similar outcomes from their health prioritisation processes, each country has established different systems that reflect the social and legal framework underpinning their health systems. England is somewhat unique in being explicit about assessing “value for money” and using formal cost‐effectiveness in developing policy.
Originality/value
Many countries are now considering the use of formal health economic methodologies to assess the value and prioritise health care interventions. However there is increasing recognition of the importance of values other than efficiency (cost effectiveness) in making acceptable decisions. This is manifest in the range of potential new approaches being developed including multiple criteria decision analysis.
Keywords
Citation
Littlejohns, P., Sharma, T. and Jeong, K. (2012), "Social values and health priority setting in England: “values” based decision making", Journal of Health Organization and Management, Vol. 26 No. 3, pp. 363-371. https://doi.org/10.1108/14777261211239007
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2012, Emerald Group Publishing Limited