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The importance of economic evaluation
Resources dedicated to health care (as those dedicated to other sectors) have increased but are still limited and under increasingly pressure. In poor countries this limitation is absolute, as health care uses resources which are then no longer available for nutrition and shelter. Richer countries have more resources, but also have an increasingly higher offer of new technologies which cannot be all simultaneously acquired. Health care workers find themselves with increasing frequency asking which technology should be privileged and which should not and up to what point the need for health care should be met. All such decisions have to be made in the light of the accountability demanded both by the public and by funders of health care systems, regardless of whether they are public or private.