HSA 4191 Chapter 13: Steps in Using Cost-Evaluation methods Part 1
Document Summary
Clearly identifying study objectives may be the most important step in the analyses. Without knowing precisely what he organization desires or what he proposed hit applications/technology is designed to do, the outcomes of the evaluation are meaningless. The decision comes down to whether the organization is looking: narrowly at the financial benefits and costs associated with the decision, or, considering broader organizational or social benefits and costs. From the perspective of information technology, social benefits include those incurred by physicians or others who are not employees of the organization but whose opinions matter to decision makers. An otherwise strong hit system may fail if the burden on the users is not fully measured. The relevant alternative to the proposed technology must be clearly articulated: otherwise, a valid decision cannot be attained. Make the decision relative to the best alternative to ensure that the optimal choice is made.
