Weale Preventative Medicine Data and Programmes

This paper discusses the problem of reflecting the impact of new and improvedmedical treatments including preventative public health measures in measures ofhealth services gross output and in the prices of medical and public health services.Both the treatment in mainstream national accounts and in a satellite healthaccount are considered. An algebraic framework is set out. In the mainstreamnational accounts the new service is initially priced at its reservation price definedwith reference to gains in quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) and reductions incosts. Withdrawn services are similarly treated. In the satellite account, theincrease in QALYs plus cost savings less costs incurred are measured relative to theQALYs generated by medical services net of costs of production. The frameworkis applied to the UK’s Diabetes Prevention Programme. The impacts on bothprices and volumes of this are shown to be small.