Achieving Value f o r Money in Healthcare: Principles, Methods and Empirical Applications

Abstract

The concept of value for money (VfM) has evolved in recent years to inform healthcare delivery and policy. It relates the delivery of health  system outcome to its expenditure in a way that justifies the use of resources to inform the provision of care; and many have  come to find this a worthy goal. Hence, the driving force of VfM is related to accountability. More so in the era of dwindling health  resources amidst increasingly needs, funders of health services (governments and donor agencies) are under increasing pressures to  justify the use of taxpayers’ money in the provision of services. Similarly, patients need to be reassured that the health system is  providing necessary care fairly and consistently. Consequently, many government and donor health programmes are now incorporating  VfM framework to ensure improved values of monies spent from public expenditures. Currently VfM is focused on improving programme  performances, ensuring that available resources are efficiently utilized to maximize desired health outcomes, based on  health system goals. VfM provides real opportunities for NGOs as well as donor and recipient countries to critically assess and manage  their developments to ensure delivery of maximum impact for people living in poverty. This paper reviews the concept of value for money  to locate the relevance/role in improving the delivery and performance of healthcare programmes in developing countries visà- vis the health system goals. The paper identifies the opportunities for and challenges of implementing VfM framework in developing  countries such as Nigerian. It concludes by summarizing the priorities for three key constituencies: policy makers (regulators), managers,  and researchers