Lawrence Leung
In its broadest term, economic evaluation (EE) is a comparative analysis of the input (costs) and the output (consequences, outcomes) of two or more alternatives to see if they are economically beneficial or feasible. The earliest form of economic evaluation took place in mid-19th century and since then; three main forms of EE have evolved which are employed in various settings: cost-benefit analysis (CBA), cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA) and cost-utility analysis (CUA). Intended as a primer reading for clinicians, this article starts with the fundamental concepts of economics (e.g., costs, benefits, supply and demand, utilities and efficiency) and then combine them into principles for each tool for EE. The article will present a narrative critique of each EE in the context of modern healthcare system. As a conclusion, the article will mention some of the major challenges of these EE tools plus the role of sensitivity analysis.