The Future of Evaluation

Abstract

We are, it seems, in agreement that we have started to develop some new lines of communication — not only at the international level but also between different professions — in an effort to promote cooperation. Of course the development of inter-professional collaboration is a very painful exercise in which we have to learn to be tolerant and that also requires the ability to learn new ways of thinking. These are exercises that certainly involve costs but which also involve benefit if conscientiously done. Thinking about the future, I should like to emphasize three points. The first one was strongly stressed by White in his speech. It is the need for the development of proper teaching, including new teaching methods and tools, both at the international and national levels. During recent years the WHO has put a lot of effort into the development of some form of interregional and regional training activities in such areas as health management, and health evaluation. We have also organized international and national courses in epidemiology and biostatistics, and the time has come when we should urgently develop training activities in health economics. Those of us who are physicians have learned during the past 3 days a good deal about what economics is all about and, indeed, the way in which economists think. There have been a lot of misconceptions about the role of health economics among the medical profession, who have often crudely identified it with accounting or financing.