Cost-effectiveness analysis in pediatric practice

The physician's first responsibility is to the patient: to apply appropriate current medical knowledge to treat and prevent illness and to assure that risks and harm from intervention are less than those of the untreated disease. Physicians have a stake in society, as well, however, and this implies prudent use of health care dollars. New medical technologies can sometimes simultaneously improve individual health status and reduce costs to society, but more often new technologies pose a dilemma for physicians and society. Health benefits come with a price tag. The benefit to the individual patient results in more costs in an already overburdened health care budget. (March 1990)