Should cost considerations be included in medical decisions? No

Excerpt

In a recent article in Intensive Care Medicine, Hernu and colleagues report the results of a survey in which they asked intensivists to estimate the costs of common intensive care unit (ICU) drugs and treatments, and then compared those estimates to actual costs [1]. Somewhat depressingly, they found that over two-thirds of estimates were wildly off the mark, with many estimates coming either well below or well above the actual values. On the basis of these results the authors call for efforts to better educate intensivists about the cost of critical care so that we can incorporate cost-control into daily practice. However, this recommendation begs a larger question: should cost considerations be included in medical decisions in the ICU? …