[ExI] How to get a healthy country

[Stathis Papaioannou]

On 17/10/2007, J. Andrew Rogers <andrew at ceruleansystems.com> wrote:

> The real tradeoff is this:  we can spend lots and lots of money on
> extensive universal preventative care, or we can spend a lot less
> money on very basic preventative care and spend the balance on very
> advanced diagnostics (like all those MRIs) and treatments.  In terms
> of health outcomes, the latter choice is better.  But people really
> like their preventative care even if the benefit is dubious, so it is
> politically potent, never mind the problem of incentives.

With the sort of expensive preventative care that you're suggesting I
think the problem is as much a lack of proof of net benefit as an
economic one. It might seem that it would be a good idea to do a
coronary angiogram on everyone at age 40, for example, but no-one has
ever done a study to show that it would in fact do more good than
harm, let alone be cost effective. We must use evidence-based
practice.



-- 
Stathis Papaioannou