Erschienen in:
01.10.2015 | Editorial
Should cost considerations be included in medical decisions? Not so sure…
Erschienen in:
Intensive Care Medicine
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Ausgabe 10/2015
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Excerpt
Most western healthcare systems are experiencing significant increases in costs that can be attributed to a growing and ageing population that has ever more frequent chronic diseases, and advances in costly healthcare technologies and interventions. These driving factors for increasing costs resonate strongly for intensive care unit (ICU) physicians who see the need for their service grow steadily each year to cope with the rising demands placed upon them. The UK National Health Service (NHS) has required spending increases in real terms of 3.8 % per year throughout its history [
1]. This growth is much higher than underlying increases in gross domestic product for the country, with the implication that the status quo is not sustainable in the longer term. This scenario is not unique to the UK and the trend can be seen in many similar western countries. …
