Health economic evaluation in Japan: a case study of one aspect of health technology assessment

Oliver, Adam ORCID: 0000-0003-3880-9350 (2003) Health economic evaluation in Japan: a case study of one aspect of health technology assessment. Health Policy, 63 (2). pp. 197-204. ISSN 0168-8510

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Abstract

There is a burgeoning literature in health economic evaluation, with this form of analysis becoming increasingly influential at the health policy making level in a number of countries. However, a search of the literature reveals that in Japan, the world's second largest health care market, very little health economic evaluation has been undertaken. The main reason for the lack of interest in economic evaluation is that the fee-for-service and strict price regulation that characterises the system of health care financing in Japan is not conducive to this form of analysis. Moreover, the government and many researchers are satisfied that the current organisation of health care has given long life and low infant mortality at low cost. Even if it is accepted that low health care costs and good health prevail in Japan, slower economic growth rates, an ageing population and the development of new medical technologies will place increasing pressure on health care resources and will necessitate a more rational use of these resources. Good economic evaluation, by weighing benefits against costs, has an important role to play.

Item Type:	Article
Official URL:	http://www.elsevier.com/locate/healthpol
Additional Information:	Published 2003 © Elsevier. LSE has developed LSE Research Online so that users may access research output of the School. Copyright © and Moral Rights for the papers on this site are retained by the individual authors and/or other copyright owners. Users may download and/or print one copy of any article(s) in LSE Research Online to facilitate their private study or for non-commercial research. You may not engage in further distribution of the material or use it for any profit-making activities or any commercial gain. You may freely distribute the URL (http://eprints.lse.ac.uk) of the LSE Research Online website.
Divisions:	LSE
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HB Economic Theory
Date Deposited:	30 Jun 2006
Last Modified:	11 Dec 2024 22:35
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/160

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