ACHIEVING VALUE FOR MONEY IN HEALTHCARE: PRINCIPLES, METHODS AND EMPIRICAL APPLICATIONS

Abstract

1 AJHE-2014-004 E PUBLICATION AHEAD OF PRINT No of pages: 18 African Journal of Health Economics xxx 2014 xxx Achieving Value For Money in Healthcare: Principles, Methods And Empirical Applications CHIJIOKE I OKOLI, CHARLES C EZENDUKA, BENJAMIN S UZOCHUKWU, IJEOMA L OKORONKWO, OBINNA E ONWUJEKWE 1 Department of Health Administration and Management, University of Nigeria Enugu Campus, Enugu Nigeria 2Health Policy Research Group, Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, College of Medicine, University of Nigeria, Enugu-Campus, Enugu, Nigeria 3 Department of Community Medicine, College of Medicine, University of Nigeria Enugu Campus, Enugu, Nigeria * Correspondence: okolichijioke@yahoo.com Abstract The concept of value for money (VfM) has evolved in recent years to inform healthcare delivery and policy. It relates the delivery of health system outcome to its expenditure in a way that justifies the use of resources to inf orm the provision of care; and many have come to find this a worthy goal. Hence, the driving force of VfM is related to accountability. More so in the era of dwindling health resources amidst increasingly needs, funders of health services (governments and donor agencies) are under increasing pressures to justify the use of taxpayers’ money in the provision of services. Similarly, patients need to be reassured that the health system is providing necessary care fairly and consistently. Consequently, many gove rnment and donor health programmes are now incorporating VfM framework to ensure improved values of monies spent from public expenditures. Currently VfM is focused on improving programme performances, ensuring that available resources are efficiently utili zed to maximize desired health outcomes, based on health system goals. VfM provides real opportunities for NGOs as well as donor and recipient countries to critically assess and manage their developments to ensure delivery of maximum impact for people livi ng in poverty. This paper reviews the concept of value for money to locate the relevance/role in improving the delivery and performance of healthcare programmes in developing countries vis-à-vis the health system goals. The paper identifies the opportunit ies for and challenges of implementing VfM framework in developing countries such as Nigerian. It concludes by summarizing the priorities for three key constituencies: policy makers (regulators), managers, and researchers Keywords: value for money, costs, economy, efficiency, effectiveness, health outcome, resource utilization