Pharmacoeconomics
The Pharmacoeconomics is the science that deals with the economic aspects of drug therapy employed. As a branch of health economics , it represents an intersection of medicine , economics and statistics . With the help of pharmacoeconomic studies, pharmacoeconomics focuses on the economic assessment of the use of one or more drugs on the quality of care for patients, on service providers and on the national economy apart. As part of these studies, the costs , effectiveness , economic viability and financial feasibility are evaluated and incorporated into cost analyzes , cost-benefit analyzes , cost-effectiveness analyzes and cost-benefit analyzes . Ethical aspects such as equity in healthcare can also be taken into account. The aim of these studies is to find the best possible solution to a drug therapy problem with limited financial resources and to increase the efficiency of care. In Germany, the Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG) is responsible for pharmaco- economic considerations in the context of statutory health insurance on the basis of the fifth book of the Social Code .
Basic principles
One of the tasks of pharmacoeconomics is to consider a therapeutic or associated benefit in relation to the necessary costs .
Profit
In the simplest case, the benefit of a pharmacotherapeutic measure can be expressed in the form of surrogate parameters, such as laboratory values or reduced blood pressure, or in the form of patient-relevant efficacy measures ( outcomes ), such as the number of days of sickness avoided or years of life gained. Taking into account the utility value , the quality of life, a gain in pharmacoeconomics is usually given as quality-corrected years of life (QALY). A material gain, for example by returning to work, can also be associated with a successful therapy.
costs
On the cost side, a distinction is made between direct , indirect and intangible costs. The direct costs are composed of the price of the drug, any application aids and, if applicable, the working hours of the medical staff. Indirect costs arise in particular from reduced ability to work or lost work. Intangible costs that are difficult to offset with money include the loss of free time due to treatment and the impairment of quality of life due to pain, physical or psychological disorders.
literature
- Thomas Müller-Bohn, Volker Ulrich: Pharmacoeconomics - Introduction to the economic analysis of drug application . Wissenschaftliche Verlagsgesellschaft mbH, 2000, ISBN 978-3-8047-1761-9 .
- Tom Walley, Alan Haycox, Angela Boland: Pharmacoeconomics . Churchill Livingstone, Edinburgh 2004, ISBN 0-443-07240-X .
- Eva Susanne Dietrich: Basics of pharmacoepidemiology and pharmacoeconomics . GOVI-Verlag, Eschborn 2002, ISBN 3-7741-0915-X .