Incorporating economic evidence into cancer care: searching for the missing link

Abstract

Since the early 1980s it has been identified that even though economic evaluation is considered useful by economist it is not widely used by health care decision-makers. One of the ways to close the gap is to involve decision-makers in the process. This project was set up to gain a better understanding of the information needs for resource allocation in the field of cancer care. The results of this project are intended to aid the development and use of the NSW Cancer Institute?s Standard Cancer Treatments (CI-SCAT) website in future years. This initiative is part of the NSW 2004-2006 Cancer to ensure that clinical practice is evidence-based and research driven. The CI-SCAT Reference Group develops and approves clinical protocols to provide clinicians with chemotherapy cancer protocols, including the evidence, cost, and drug dose calculation. Members of CI-SCAT Reference Groups were surveyed in their capacity as clinicians and decision-makers in the Australian Health Care System. The survey asked about participants? knowledge, use and views of economic evaluation in decision making. It also sought information about their knowledge and views on how resource allocation decisions were made within your local area/hospital and whether participants would value greater access to various types of economic information. This paper will explore what decision-makers at a state/local level value in terms of economic evidence.Economic evaluation, cancer, survey, decision-making, Australia