17. Description versus valuation in long-term care data

This article discusses problems in using basic data sets as a source of material when analyzing the cost effectiveness and cost benefit of long-term health care. It is argued that data relevant to patient functioning, coping resources, environmental stress, and service inputs should be purged, insofar as practicable, of all valuation elements. Valuation must be addressed at the policy level and depends upon who makes the decision, at what time, and in what context. The role of the basic data set is to provide a ready point of entry for such valuations.