Expensive Health Technologies

All developed countries have concerns about the place of expensive medical technologies in their health system. Decisions have to be made about which technologies should be introduced and what the extent of their use should be. Countries with differing health care systems have produced various mechanisms to control medical technology. This book describes the methods used by the 10 EEC countries (prior to the entry of Spain and Portugal) to regulate the introduction and use of expensive medical equipment and procedures. The EEC Workshop on Regulatory Mechanisms Concerning Expensive Health Technology, London 22-25 April, 1986 forms the basis for these country reports which assess how policy is implemented, which technologies should be introduced and the extent of their use, how financing is used, planning procedures and other regulatory mechanisms. Also included are more detailed analyses of a number of technologies such as computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, renal dialysis and transplantation, lithotripsy, radiotherapy, coronary artery bypass and heart transplantation.
The influence of various individuals and groups on the diffusion process was explored for each country, leading to a number of recommendations for European countries individually and collectively.