Valuing prevention: lessons and recommendations from a Dutch expert committee

Countries have been struggling with investments in prevention. How to obtain insight in the costs, benefits, and budgetary impacts of investments in prevention? And how to weigh investments in prevention against other investments in health, such as in curative health care. In the Netherlands, in 2023, a methodological expert committee was established to answer such questions. Their advice, published in January 2024, has been impactful, receiving much attention in Dutch politics and policy and leading to the establishment of a subsequent scientific committee on appropriate evidence and the development of an investment model for prevention.

In this perspective, we present the main recommendations from the advice and embed these recommendations in the Dutch institutional context. Furthermore, we highlight why the financing of prevention is challenging and suggest some solutions. Finally, we discuss how the advice was received and what follow-up was given, reflect on why this advice had such a large impact, and distill recommendations for other countries from this experience.

Economic evaluation of prevention is not intrinsically more challenging than that of other health investments. For a direct comparison of investments in health, similar methods should be used for both prevention and medical care.