Literature pharmacoeconomic

In Pharmacoeconomics in Psychiatry we have reviewed and drawn together the literature on this subject in order to explain the process of economic analyses and provide practically useful conclusions about their application to different drug groups. For this challenging task, we have enlisted the help of chapter authors widely renowned for their expertise in the clinical specialty concerned. 

One Web site that may be particularly useful for gaining access to information on many different types of clinical pharmacy services is maintained by the Center for Pharmacoeconomic Research at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Pharmacy. The site is called VClinRx, short for The Value of Clinical Pharmacy Services, and it is a searchable database of literature on clinical pharmacy services. It can be accessed at http //www.uic.edu/pharmacy/centers/ pharmacoeconomic research/. 

The important first step in developing a pharmacoeconomic strategic plan is to start by finding out what is currently known about the disease and the economic and humanistic burden that it has on patients, payers and providers. The best place to start is with a review of the literature and the Internet to determine what has already been accomplished. This may entail a review of the epidemiology and clinical aspects of the condition to verify that pharmacoeconomic components would be a worthwhile addition to a clinical program. After this review the pharmacoeconomist should then formulate the plan for measuring economic and humanistic outcome, and this will ultimately become a component of the full development plan. 

Clinical case reports of unusual treatments or response to therapy have presented a plethora of questions that remain to be answered. Case series and descriptions of experience with treatment protocols or the impact of pharmacist interventions are useful contributions to the literature. Evaluation of economics and outcomes has been an important area of research in critical care. The critically ill patient patient typically receives a large number of different and often expensive medications, and is monitored with expensive devices. Pharmacists have characterized various aspects of the cost of care, although comprehensive pharmacoeconomic outcome research is... 

The pharmacist contributes to the pharmacy and medical literature, e.g., case reports, letters to the editor, and therapeutic, pharmacokinetic, and pharmacoeconomic reports. 

In the time that has passed since the original ACCP prospectus, the literature has continued to grow in both depth and breadth of evidence supportive of the financial justification of clinical pharmacy services. New service models and philosophies of practice have developed in the past 6 years, the most notable being that of pharmaceutical care. " In addition, our ability to evaluate scientifically and measure the impact of clinical services on costs and outcomes has matured with the increased understanding and use of analytical techniques in health economics and pharmacoeconomics. " The effect of these advances on the quality and quantity of literature is unknown. The ACCP Board of Regents thus asked the ACCP Publications Committee to update this prospectus. 

Evaluates biomedical and pharmacoeconomic literature to determine criteria for optimal use and monitoring of therapeutic agents. 

Routinely reviews biomedical and pharmacoeconomic literature relevant to the pharmacothera-peutic management of patient populations. 

Pharmacoeconomics is the study of information that compares the expected gains and expected costs of a medical intervention against other forms of healthcare intervention. Originally a subdivision of health economics, pharmacoeconomics is a relatively young discipline with literature references first noted in the mid-1960s. 

Numerous examples of CBAs have been published in the literature recently.However, of all pharmacoeconomic evaluation methods, CBA is probably used the least. Although this method has the advantage of valuing indirect costs monetarily (using the HC and WTP approaches) and intangible benefits (using the WTP approach), the valuation of outcomes such as productivity and quality of life is difficult to perform reliably and meaningfully. ... 

Use published literature Quick Inexpensive Subject to peer review Results may be from RCT Variety of results can be examined Results from RCT Difficult to generalize results May not be comparative Misuse of pharmacoeconomic terms Variations in rigor/quality... 

TABLE 1 —4. Basic Criteria for Evaluation of Pharmacoeconomic Literature... 

Similar to evaluating the quality of a clinical trial, sponsorship of a pharmacoeconomic study should be considered when evaluating the quality and usefulness of that study. The quality of studies conducted or funded by different companies or organizations will vary by sponsor, company, product, or evaluation, and the potential for bias should be neither ignored nor assumed. For example, many of the studies sponsored or conducted by the pharmaceutical industry to date have been academically rigorous as well as informative. A clear understanding of how to evaluate, critique, and use the pharmacoeconomic literature appropriately will minimize any potential effects of this criterion on clinical decision making. 

Clinicians may need to conduct a pharmacoeconomic evaluation if there is insufficient literature, if published results cannot be extrapolated to clinical practice, or if building a model is not appropriate. Before conducting a pharmacoeconomic evaluation, clinicians should be familiar with the similarities, differences, and appropriate application of pharmacoeconomic methods (discussed earlier in this chapter). 

Rosery H, Bergemann R, Maxion-Bergemann S (2005) International variation in resource utilisation and treatment costs for rheumatoid arthritis a systematic literature review. Pharmacoeconomics, 23 243-257. 

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