Watts C A, Jackson M, LoGerfo J P
Med Care. 1979 Apr;17(4):430-4. doi: 10.1097/00005650-197904000-00011.
Cost benefit analyses in the health sector frequently deal with situations in which the money value of the benefits is either difficult or impossible to measure. This paper asserts that the use of cost effectiveness analysis as a means of escaping the need to place a dollar value on benefits does not escape the need for appropriately discounting these benefits when they accrue in different periods over time. The choice of an appropriate discount rate is discussed, and the benefits of elective hysterectomy are used to demonstrate that a serious bias can result from ignoring the need for discounting.
卫生部门的成本效益分析常常涉及到效益的货币价值难以或无法衡量的情况。本文认为，使用成本效益分析作为一种避免对效益进行货币估值的方法，在效益随时间在不同时期产生时，仍然无法回避对这些效益进行适当贴现的必要性。本文讨论了合适贴现率的选择，并以选择性子宫切除术的效益为例，说明忽视贴现需求可能导致严重偏差。
