Health economics: the start of clinical freedom

Abstract

Abstract Background Since Professor Hampton announced the death of clinical freedom in 1983, the increasing influence of Evidence-based Medicine and Health Technology Assessment has contributed to augment the feeling that clinicians have a secondary role in the therapeutic decision-making process. Discussion This article constitutes a reflection on how clinicians may use the results of economic evaluations in their daily clinical practice, making decisions about cost-effectiveness on a case by case basis, and addressing both the patient's and society's needs. To that end, some illustrating examples are taken from the literature to show there are factors with great impact on cost-effectiveness results that can be easily identified and modified by clinicians. Summary The evolution of the discipline and the trend towards a tailored therapy suggest that health economics is not the end of clinical freedom but the start of it.