Priorities and Distribution in Care

Abstract

AbstractIn the third part of this report we look at choices with regard to health and social care. In what ways can people and resources be distributed across sectors, organizations, treatments and preventive interventions? How do we divide our public resources between care and other goals? And how do we decide on such questions? Whereas our focus in the previous part was the organization of care and achieving effectiveness or productive efficiency—how to provide care—we now turn our attention to what to do? What care do we offer? And how much of it? Economists refer to this as allocative efficiency: to what ends should resources be allocated and what should attract fewer, or none at all? Allocative efficiency also concerns the extent to which that allocation is in line with society’s wishes and preferences. In other words, are we doing the right things? This is all about priorities, not to mention the practical limits we set to the growth of health and social care. And perhaps even more importantly, about how the choices are made.