Professor Jonathan Wolff (University College London)
When is Cost-Benefit Analysis Morally Acceptable in Health Decision Making (And What Should We Do When It Isn't)?
The National Insititute of Health and
Clinical Excellence (NICE) provides guidance on the use of new
medicines and technologies on the basis of their cost-effectiveness,
judging financial costs against health benefits. NICE is regularly
criticised for the callousness or inhumanity of decisions reached on
this basis. Yet while it may seem easy to criticise particular
decisions, it is far less clear how a systematic alternative decision
procedure is possible. In this talk I will review some criticisms and
alternatives, briefly looking at modified forms of cost-benefit
analysis incorporating equity and social
value weights, as well as considering more radical alternatives such as
participatory decision-making, and professional judgement.
