What is the broadest perspective in economic evaluations?

• A. Payer perspective
• B. Societal perspective
• C. Provider perspective
• D. Patient perspective

Answer: (B)

The broadest lens for economic evaluations is the societal perspective. It aims to capture all costs and benefits that affect society as a whole, not just what a single payer or group pays or experiences. From this view, you include direct medical costs (like hospital stays and medications), direct nonmedical costs (such as transportation to care), and indirect costs (for example, lost productivity when people can’t work). It also considers broader effects on well-being and quality of life, and may include unofficial costs borne by caregivers or impacts on public health and education. Because it attempts to tally the full economic and social impact of an intervention, it provides the most comprehensive basis for policy decisions affecting the entire population. Narrower perspectives, such as those of a payer, provider, or patient, focus only on costs and consequences within their specific domain, missing the wider societal effects.