Health Economics vs Health Economics: reconciling what treatments should and will be delivered

Abstract: A part of health economics in recent decades has focused on the problems associated with ensuring that health care systems deliver the treatments and interventions that society wants. Another part, with a longer heritage, has been concerned with defining what, from a social perspective, the correct treatments and interventions are. The purpose of this seminar is to outline the methods and approach of these two, often very separate, endeavours and to explore how each might influence the other going forward. In particular we focus on the importance of heterogeneity of patients, physicians and remuneration systems and consider how the insights gained from recognising the importance of heterogeneity, in all its guises, might impact on defining and implementing ‘correct’ treatments