| Efficient health care resource allocation is a major issue of health policy in every health system. At the same time, an effective health policy attempts to improve health outcomes of the population, which are fully connected to the quality of life. Thus, quality of life and more specifically, an indicator which combines longevity and quality of life (QALY) seems to be an appropriate tool to allocate resources and increase efficiency. This indicator for allocating resources has been proposed by many health economists. Of course, the QALYs estimation are not perfect and many practical and methodological difficulties have to be solved in the years ahead. However, the alternative, of relying of negative health indicators or, of nowhere to allocate resources, as in the Greek case, is far from satisfactory. This means that decision makers taking into account QALYs to allocate resources must exercise their final decision with caution, care and intelligence. |
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