Despite the growing use of decision analytic modelling in cost-effectiveness analysis, there is a relatively small literature on what constitutes good practice in decision analysis. The aim of this paper is to consider the concept of 'validity' and 'quality' in this area of evaluation, and to suggest a framework by which quality can be demonstrated on the part of the analyst and assessed by the...

The role of health systems infrastructure in studies of cost-effectiveness analysis and health resource allocation is discussed, and previous health sector cost-effectiveness analyses are cited. Two substantial difficulties concerning the nature of health system costs and the policy choices are presented. First, the issue of health system infrastructure can be addressed by use of computer model...

We applied the notion of strategic alignment to ERP system implementation and used a balanced scorecard approach to analyze business performance. The PLS analysis showed a positive association between realized strategic alignment, shorter and more cost efficient ERP projects, faster reaction times to business events, and the benefits of ERP systems. While each stage of ERP implementation has it...

Health systems around the world are grappling with the difficult issue of how to allocate scare healthcare resources. Within Europe many different approaches to healthcare resource allocation exist, but it is clear that the formal techniques of cost-effectiveness analysis are becoming increasingly important. This presentation will first address the fundamental economic principles of scarcity an...

The Kyoto Protocol assigns limits for the aggregate emissions of six greenhouse gases, but most economic analyses focus on CO2 abatement. What are the potential gains if policy makers exploit the flexibility in a multi-gas abatement strategy? We extend the EDGE model to include sinks and non-CO2 gases and show that a multigas strategy reduces costs by 20-35% in the Western Annex B countries. Ma...

BACKGROUND Priority setting is necessary in current healthcare services. Discussion of fair process has highlighted the value of developing reasons for allocation decisions on the basis of experience gained from real cases. AIM To identify the reasons that those with experience of real decision-making concerning resource allocation think relevant in deciding on the priority of a new but expen...

Translocation of mtDNA into the nuclear genome, also referred to as numt, was first reported in the domestic cat (Felis catus) by Lopez et al. (1994). The Lopez-numt consisted of a translocation of 7.9 kbp of mtDNA that inserted into the domestic cat chromosome D2 around 1.8 million years ago. More than a decade later, the release of the domestic cat whole-genome shotgun sequences (1.9x coverag...