Cost effectiveness rapidly becomes cost containment

EDITOR,--We believe that Nick Freemantle and colleagues' editorial on promoting cost effective prescribing may give an unrepresentative perception of Australian experience.1 The policy of requiring economic analysis before being prepared to reimburse the cost of an intervention when resources are limited is laudable for many reasons. This policy as applied in Australia can be praised particularly for its theoretical objectives. However, use of this policy as a rationale …