Technological change in healthcare has led to huge improvements in health services and the health status of populations. Although offering remarkable benefits, these changes often entail significant financial, physical and social risks. This book analyses the impact of advances in medical technology from an economic perspective.

PART I. INTRODUCTION; PART II. INNOVATION, DIFFUSION AND TECHNOLOGY CHANGE; PART III. TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE AND HEALTH INSURANCE; PART IV. INNOVATION, SOCIAL DEMAND AND VALUATION; PART V. INCENTIVES, MECHANISMS AND PROCESSES

Contains a general health economics perspective, relevant to those in both health economics and policy Looks at the whole process of innovation, making it an important resource for practitioners in the public and private sectors Broader than simple economic evaluation, the book considers the behavioural aspects, organization, incentives, adoption and diffusion of new health technologies Hugely topical for modern healthcare, relevant to issues such as nano-technology, cloning, and tissue engineering Contributions from international experts including economists, health policy analysts, clinicians, and social scientists

Joan Costa-Font is a Senior Research Fellow and Lecturer at LSE. He teaches political economy, health economics and economic aspects of social policy at the London School of Economics and Political Science, and has previously taught Economics at the University of Barcelona. Dr Costa-Font is a fellow of CESifo (Munich), the health econometrics and data group (York), FEDEA (Madrid), IESE Business School and non-executive director of the Economics of Social Policy Unit (CAEPS) at the University of Barcelona. He has acted as an economic and research consultant for the Word Bank, the European Commission, the Spanish and Catalan governments as well as for private organisations. Christophe Courbage, is Director of the Health and Ageing and Insurance Economics research programmes at the Geneva Association. He lectures in Health Economics at the University of Lausanne, and "International Faculty" at the Singapore College of Insurance. Dr Courbage is also Deputy Editor of The Geneva Papers and Executive Secretary of the European Group of Risk and Insurance Economists (EGRIE). Dr Courbage was awarded the 1999 Ernst Meyer Prize by the Geneva Association for the best PhD thesis in Insurance Economics, is Deputy Editor of The Geneva Papers on Risk and Insurance - Issues and Practice, and is Executive Secretary of the European Group of Risk and Insurance Economists (EGRIE). Professor Alistair McGuire is a Professor in Health Economics at LSE Health and Social Care. He has been professor of Economic at City University and tought at Oxford University and Aberdeen. Professor McGuire has written numerous books, articles and reports in this area. He has also acted as an advisor to numerous UK government offices and research councils (including the ESRC and the MRC), as well as an economic consultant to a number of foreign governments, and domestic and foreign corporations and pharmaceutical companies. His current interests are in economic evaluation (especially when conducted alongside clinical trials), the economics of the hospital, technological diffusion, and health care insurance.

Contains a general health economics perspective, relevant to those in both health economics and policy Looks at the whole process of innovation, making it an important resource for practitioners in the public and private sectors Broader than simple economic evaluation, the book considers the behavioural aspects, organization, incentives, adoption and diffusion of new health technologies Hugely topical for modern healthcare, relevant to issues such as nano-technology, cloning, and tissue engineering Contributions from international experts including economists, health policy analysts, clinicians, and social scientists