Managing to manage healthcare resources in the English NHS? What can health economics teach? What can health economics learn?

OBJECTIVES: To provide a 'thick description' of how decision-makers understand and manage healthcare prioritisation decisions, and to explore the potential for using economic frameworks in the context of the NHS in England.

METHODS: Interviews were conducted with 22 key decision-makers from six Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) in northern England. A constant comparative approach was used to identify broad themes and sub-themes.

RESULTS: Six broad themes emerged from the analysis. In summary, decision-makers recognised the concepts of resources scarcity, competing claims, and the need for choices and trade-offs to be made. Decision-makers even went on to identify a common set of principles that ought to guide commissioning decisions. However, the process of commissioning was dominated by political, historical and clinical methods of commissioning which, failed to recognise these concepts in practice, and departed from the principles. As a result, the commissioning process was viewed as not being systematic or transparent and, therefore, seen as underperforming.

CONCLUSIONS: Health economists need to acknowledge the importance of contextual factors and the realities of priority setting. Our research suggests that the emphasis should be on integrating principles of economics into a management process rather than expecting decision-makers to apply the output of ever more seemingly 'technically sound' health economic methods which cannot reflect the dominating and driving complexities of the commissioning process.