Priority Setting in Action

The power of purchasers exposes the weaknesses of conventional thinking on the costs and benefits of priorities. Health policy analysts now have to develop rational criteria to support decisions in a process which may be inherently intuitive. This authoritative and practical text points the way towards clear choices in resource allocation and the implications of these choices on expenditure diverted among different health care programmes.

Frank Honigsbaum (Senior Research Fellow, Health Services Management Centre, University of Birmingham), John Richards (Strategic Planner, Southampton and South West Hampshire, Health Commission), Tony Lockett (Head of Financial Planning and Health Economics, Southampton and South West Hampshire, Health Commission)

1. The international context 2. The Southampton experience 3. Lessons learned 4. Emergent themes 5. Outstanding issues