Making the case for consultation-liaison psychiatry: issues in cost-effectiveness analysis.

There is an increasing need to rationally allocate scarce resources to improve the efficiency of health care and reduce costs. Evidence suggests that consultation-liaison psychiatry has important clinical and economic benefits. This article defines cost-effectiveness and cost benefit analyses, describes basic principles for CEA and in that context critiques recent literature relevant to consultation-liaison psychiatry, and discusses potential contributions and dangers that such studies might offer. There is a need within the health care field for systemic and sophisticated decisions by policy makers. Well designed and comprehensively analyzed studies of the cost-effectiveness of consultation-liaison programs will not only contribute toward advancing the field of consultation-liaison psychiatry but also toward informing the decisions of health policy makers.