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The importance of economic evaluation
Resources dedicated to health care (as those dedicated to
other sectors) have increased but are still limited and under
increasingly pressure. In poor countries this limitation is
absolute, as health care uses resources which are then no longer
available for nutrition and shelter. Richer countries have more
resources, but also have an increasingly higher offer of new
technologies which cannot be all simultaneously acquired. Health
care workers find themselves with increasing frequency asking which
technology should be privileged and which should not and up to what
point the need for health care should be met. All such decisions have
to be made in the light of the accountability demanded both by the
public and by funders of health care systems, regardless of whether
they are public or private.
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