Highly variable cost-effectiveness with disease characteristics and age: Herceptin as a Case Study

Tuesday, October 25th, 2016 | Kate Sloane | 3 Comments

Prof Tony Blakely, Dr Nisha Nair

Herceptin blog imageThis blog is, and isn’t, about the breast cancer drug Herceptin. It is about Herceptin in that we report on a study we just published in the journal PLoS Medicine about the health gains, costs, and cost-effectiveness of Herceptin. It isn’t about Herceptin in that the key point is far more general: in the age of personalised and precision medicine, our country’s funding decisions are often blunt and imprecise, some may even say wasteful. We raise some hard and contentious issues – but talking about money and health in the same breath always is.

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“Appetite for Destruction”: A new book with attitude – but also strong science

Monday, September 30th, 2013 | Kate Sloane | 2 Comments

Professor Tony Blakely

Book launched tomorrow

Gareth Morgan is known as a smart economist and a bit of a stirrer of public debate.  Think domestic cat control to save birds. Think “Big Kahuna” on social policy. And think “Health Cheque”, a review of prioritisation in the health services. But he, and his economist co-author Geoff Simmons, actually apply a very careful analysis before they get in your face with their solutions.

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Why don’t we live as long and healthily as we could: social values and decision making

Friday, July 12th, 2013 | TONY BLAKELY | No Comments

Welcome to this Public Health Expert Blog. This blog is going to consider what we could do, and what we probably should not do, to improve public health.  We will traverse the range from birth to end of life care and death, efficiency versus equity, learning from our history to future gazing, opportunity costs, climate change and aging populations, genetics to social determinants, and much more.  Myself and academic colleagues will blog about issues of the day, and issues that should be issues of the day.  We undertake to make this blog informative, relevant, and as evidence-based as possible. Continue reading