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Cost-Benefit Analysis

Meaning

Cost-Benefit Analysis, in a clinical context, refers to a systematic process of comparing the financial and non-financial burdens of a medical intervention or decision against its potential positive outcomes. This evaluation considers direct monetary expenses, time commitment, patient discomfort, and potential side effects as costs, while weighing them against improvements in health status, quality of life, symptom alleviation, and disease prevention as benefits. The aim is to ascertain if the gains from a particular course of action justify the associated expenditures and efforts.