Models of Disease Costs and Their Use in Medical Research Resource Allocations.

Emmett B. Keeler

Expert InsightsPublished 1970

Biomedical research today is selected on the basis of its "scientific merit" as panels of experts see it; instead, it should be judged by its probable effects on American health. Two cost models to help judge those effects--and allocate medical research funds--are introduced. One treats health and life as an investment and measures the costs of a disease in terms of its medical costs and work days lost to illness and death. The other treats health as a consumption good and measures the costs of a disease by how much people would be willing to pay to avoid it. Discussion is focused on using the models to evaluate the potential payoff of specific research proposals, thus improving the process by which scientific study groups rate them for selection. 52 pp. Ref.

Document Details

  • Copyright: RAND Corporation
  • Availability: Web Only
  • Year: 1970
  • Pages: 52
  • Document Number: P-4537

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Keeler, Emmett B., Models of Disease Costs and Their Use in Medical Research Resource Allocations. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 1970. https://www.rand.org/pubs/papers/P4537.html.
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