...Craig Mitton; Francois Dionne As hard caps force choices to be made, a necessary condition for successful implementation of this policy is the presence of an effective priority-setting framework to ensure that the right choices are made in operationalizing spending limitations. Work...

...Peter Garpenby; Karin Bäckman Purpose From the late 1980s and onwards health care in Sweden has come under increasing financial pressure, forcing policy makers to consider restrictions. The purpose of this paper is to review experiences and to establish lessons of formal priority setting in four...

... challenges for policy, research and society. The findings suggest that challenges emerge as a result of legitimacy deficits of both consensus and contestatory modes of public involvement in health priority setting. Design/methodology/approach – The paper draws on the discussions and findings presented...

...Katharina Kieslich, Peter Littlejohns and Albert Weale; Albert Weale Purpose – Noting that discussions of public participation and priority setting typically presuppose certain political theories of democracy, the purpose of this paper is to discuss two theories: the consensual and the agonistic...

... through increased public and patient involvement (PPI) in prioritization decisions by discussing the conceptualization, scope and rationales of PPI in priority setting that inform the special issue. Design/methodology/approach – The paper employs a mixed-methods approach in that it provides...

... to challenge the legitimacy of the priority setting process. No system has resolved the conceptual ambiguities that are implicit in the idea of public participation. Originality/value – The paper draws on a unique collection of country case studies in participatory practice in prioritization...

...Evelyn Cornelissen; Craig Mitton; Alan Davidson; Colin Reid; Rachelle Hole; Anne-Marie Visockas; Neale Smith Purpose – Program budgeting and marginal analysis (PBMA) is a priority setting approach that assists decision makers with allocating resources. Previous PBMA work establishes its efficacy...

...Iestyn Williams Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to take forward consideration of context in health care priority setting and to offer some practical strategies for priority setters to increase receptiveness to their work. Design/methodology/approach – A number of tools and methods...

... Priority setting Rationing Resource allocation Rising levels of demand due to ageing populations and increases in long-term conditions (White, 2007), increased levels of expectation amongst patients and inflationary pressure caused by the rising cost of new technologies are amongst...

...Neale Smith; Craig Mitton; Evelyn Cornelissen; Jennifer Gibson; Stuart Peacock Purpose Public sector interest in methods for priority setting and program or policy evaluation has grown considerably over the last several decades, given increased expectations for accountable and efficient use...

... is the first treatment available in a given therapeutic area and when there is still uncertainty regarding the evidence. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited 2012 Health care Health systems Social values Priority setting Health technology assessment The papers in this special edition...