Workshop 1: How to interpret pharmacoeconomic studies

 

Financial resources in healthcare are limited. Given the fact it is nowadays more important than ever that healthcare treatments offer satisfactory value regarding the money they cost. The economic efficiency of treatments is assessed through evaluations, where costs are related to outcomes and consequences of this treatment. By virtue of their profession, hospital pharmacists are especially interested in the economic efficiency of drugs. The hospital sector is one area where high cost drugs are widely prescribed, but propagated benefits are often unclear, vague or marginal. The cost-effectiveness, especially of new drugs entering the market, has meanwhile become a key criterion that pharmaceutical industry has to demonstrate and prove in relevant studies. Pharmacoeconomic evaluations are often required when deciding on questions of reimbursement, or regulating the availability of, or the access to, a new drug therapy. While taking care of the hospital drug budget, it is key for hospital pharmacists to make themselves familiar with the major concepts of pharmacoeconomic evaluations. The understanding of how they are performed and the knowledge to critically appraise the results belong to the most important skills of modern hospital pharmacists.  

 

 

 

After participating in the workshop the participant should be able: