[Efficiency-based healthcare. General concepts on economic evaluation of healthcare interventions]

This article aims to introduce some of the key concepts in health economics and economic evaluation, with a view to facilitating proper understanding of certain frequently used economic techniques so that readers, decision makers and professionals, mainly from the healthcare context (e.g. clinicians, nurses, managers), can adopt an evaluation culture to support their routine practice. Economic evaluation compares alternative courses of action in terms of costs and health outcomes. The main methods are cost-minimization analysis, cost-effectiveness analysis, cost-utility analysis, and cost-benefit analysis. In the current context of scarce resources, economic evaluation is a fundamental component of healthcare decision-making processes. Increasing the use of economic evaluation in the context of future healthcare strategies could minimize arbitrary decision-making, providing guidance in addressing and assuring quality and evidence-based healthcare.