Economic evaluation techniques in healthcare. Reinventing the wheel?

Application of the technique of economic evaluation has increased markedly in the past 5 years. Literature on the techniques of economic evaluation is over 30 year old, and the principal architect of such techniques in Britain is Professor Alan Williams of the University of York. In 1974 he wrote a 'checklist of questions' to apply to economic studies. These questions have since been elaborated by Mike Drummond and colleagues, and by the end of the 1980s guidelines were well articulated. Since this time there have been substantial investments in 'gilding the lily', leading to marginal improvements. This investment in 'reinventing the wheel' could more usefully be applied to resolution of contentious areas where there is still a lack of consensus. It is time to stop going around in circles with guideline reiteration and quasi-consensus statements, and instead target resources where they give the greatest return to knowledge.