¹Department of Medicine Division of Gastroenterology, McMaster University Medical Centre, Hamilton, Ontario

Correspondence: Nicholas J. Talley, MD, PhD, Clinical Enteric Neuroscience Transational and Epidemiological Research Program, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota

Received 6 November 2004; Revised  0000; Accepted 9 November 2004.

Abstract

Gastroenterologists mainly deal with chronic organic and functional illnesses that are not life threatening but can be expensive to treat. How this compares with the management of other diseases that cause significant mortality is an important question to answer if health-care resources are to be allocated appropriately. Comparing health care in terms of cost per quality adjusted life year (QALY) gained is one approach to this problem although there are concerns about whose values should be elicited and how QALYs are measured.