Pharmacoeconomics demonstrates a drugs value

Today s healthcare policy-makers, including government officials, health insurance companies and managed-care organizations, are faced with the reality of limited resources for healthcare and the knowledge that much medical care is of uncertain value. The value of vitamin E therapy in Alzheimer s disease, for example, is still unclear, but some physicians have recommended it for years without any real measures of its effect on the disease. 

There is also evidence that there is significant variation in medical practice patterns both between and within countries. Research by VVennberg (1984) found a high variation in the use of medical procedures for specific conditions in the USA that were not explained by population morbidity or mortality figures. 

These realities of the current state of healthcare have caused healthcare policy-makers to use several methods to regulate the supply and demand of health services and thereby control the cost of those serv ices. Attempts to reduce the supply of services include a reduction in the reimbursement for services or a reduction in the number of physicians and specialists. These approaches may contain the growth of healthcare costs but a reduction in the capacity of the healthcare system also limits the patient access to services, resulting in longer waits for non-emergency services. Attempts to reduce the demand for services include  

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