Card W I, Mooney G H
Br Med J. 1977;2(6103):1627-9. doi: 10.1136/bmj.2.6103.1627.
The resources available to the health service are limited and so the amount the NHS can spend on saving human life is also limited. Rational allocation of resources requires a decision theory model, which in turn demands some monetary valuation of human life. Each of three approaches discussed--basing value on productive capacity, the NHS's implied values, or individuals' values--rests on an underlying set of non-monetary values. Choice of the underlying value will determine the method to be used in placing a monetary value on life. As the Health Service implicitly places certain values on life already, a means of making this valuation more rational and explicity can only improve the quality and quantity of health care.
卫生服务可用的资源是有限的，因此英国国家医疗服务体系（NHS）可用于挽救生命的资金也有限。资源的合理分配需要一个决策理论模型，而这反过来又需要对人类生命进行某种货币估值。所讨论的三种方法——基于生产能力确定价值、NHS隐含的价值或个人的价值——都基于一套潜在的非货币价值。潜在价值的选择将决定用于对生命进行货币估值的方法。由于医疗服务体系已经在隐含地对生命赋予了某些价值，使这种估值更加合理和明确的方法只会提高医疗保健的质量和数量。
