Bayesian Methods in Health Economics

1

Introduction to health economic evaluation

This chapter was written by Rachael M. Hunter (Department of Primary Care and

Population Health, UCL) and Gianluca Baio

1.1 Introduction

In recent years health economics has become an increasingly important disci-

pline in medical research, especially with the transition from the paradigm of

evidence based medicine to that of translational research (Berwick, 2005; Lean

et al., 2008), which aims at making basic research applicable in the context

of real practice, and under budget constraints, in order to enhance patients’

access to optimal health care.

Since the 1970s, health care services have undergone dra ...