Date and Time
March 12, 2008
1:30 PM - 3:00 PM

Availability
Open to the public
No RSVP required

Speaker
Ahmed Bayoumi - MD, MS

Resource allocation research typically focuses on estimating the cost-effectiveness of a new intervention; expressed as health benefits relative to monetary inputs, a measure of efficiency. Nevertheless, decision makers are also frequently concerned about equity -- whether treatments are fairly distributed across potential recipients Empiric evidence suggests that some decision making agencies occasionally adopt relatively inefficient interventions, perhaps because of equity concerns. Although many national guidelines recognize the importance of equity considerations, both analysts and decision makers have little guidance for how to measure equity or to incorporate such concerns into cost-effectiveness analyses. Consequently, equity considerations may be neglected altogether; alternatively, decisions taken in the name of equity may lack transparency and may be vulnerable to charges of arbitrariness or undue political influence. The focus of this talk is thus on providing quantitative measures to evaluate equity rather than on ensuring that the process of decision making incorporates fair principles.

This talk will address several issues around the question "Can equity concerns be incorporated in cost-effectiveness analyses?" First, I will review some fundamental concepts related to definitions of equity, some of which are contested. Second, I will present a review of the literature regarding incorporation of equity into cost-effectiveness analysis, most of which is theoretical or conceptual. Third, I will present a discrete choice experiment that attempted to quantify how individuals weight certain equity factors. Finally, I will present a framework for considering how such weights might be applied to real-world analysis and the consequent decisions. The goal is to stimulate thought, challenge conventions, and to be somewhat provocative in promoting an oft-neglected component of resource allocation decision making.