Equity, priority setting and civil society.

This paper gives empirical evidence that, in a health care priority setting , i) equity could: have a greater social value than efficiency and clinical effectiveness and that ii) preferences expressed at a social level for evi dence-based health care choices will be reconsidered by the population when an explicit demand for a non evidence-based 'last chance therapy' is made at individual level. Results show that, when setting priorities under budge tary constraints, reconcilement of apparently conflicting interests between social and individual utilities must be considered. A pragmatical proposal of conciliation of these two points of view is presented.