Critical Appraisal of Pharmacoeconomic Studies

This chapter outlines the four fundamental types of pharmacoeconomic studies, gives dermatological examples, and discusses the necessary items for such studies. Cost analyses are useful as sources of rigorous cost accounting and as the basis for other pharmacoeconomic studies. Microcosting involves enumerating each component of a therapeutic strategy and then determining the cost of each component. Macrocosting determines the overall cost to care for a particular disease, usually with a population-based approach. Cost-effectiveness analyses (CEAs) compare at least two therapies-usually a new therapy is compared with a currently available therapy. Cost-utility analyses (CUAs) provide outcomes that are standardized and weighted. CUAs give rise to a ratio similar to that of a CEA except that the outcomes are measured in quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs). Cost-benefit analyses (CBAs) differ from CEAs and CUAs in that the results are reported as differences between the costs and health benefits of the therapeutic program.

Duke Scholars

Author Suephy C Chen Dermatology