Principles of pharmacoeconomic analysis: the case of pharmacist-led interventions

In the past years, several factors such as evidence-based healthcare culture, quality-linked incentives, and patient-centered actions, associated with an important increase of financial constraints and pressures on healthcare budgets, resulted in a growing interest by policy-makers in enlarging phar...

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Main Authors: Fernanda S. Tonin, Ignacio Aznar-Lou, Vasco M. Pontinha, Roberto Pontarolo, Fernando Fernandez-Llimos
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Centro de Investigaciones y Publicaciones Farmaceuticas 2021-03-01
Series:Pharmacy Practice
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.pharmacypractice.org/journal/index.php/pp/article/view/2302
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author Fernanda S. Tonin
Ignacio Aznar-Lou
Vasco M. Pontinha
Roberto Pontarolo
Fernando Fernandez-Llimos
author_facet Fernanda S. Tonin
Ignacio Aznar-Lou
Vasco M. Pontinha
Roberto Pontarolo
Fernando Fernandez-Llimos
author_sort Fernanda S. Tonin
collection DOAJ
description In the past years, several factors such as evidence-based healthcare culture, quality-linked incentives, and patient-centered actions, associated with an important increase of financial constraints and pressures on healthcare budgets, resulted in a growing interest by policy-makers in enlarging pharmacists’ roles in care. Numerous studies have demonstrated positive therapeutic outcomes associated with pharmaceutical services in a wide array of diseases. Yet, the evidence of the economic impact of the pharmacist in decreasing total health expenditures, unnecessary care, and societal costs relies on well-performed, reliable, and transparent economic evaluations, which are scarce. Pharmacoeconomics is a branch of health economics that usually focuses on balancing the costs and benefits of an intervention towards the use of limited resources, aiming at maximizing value to patients, healthcare payers and society through data driven decision making. These decisions can be guide by a health technology assessment (HTA) process that inform governmental players about medical, social, and economic implications of development, diffusion, and use of health technologies – including clinical pharmacy interventions. This paper aims to provide an overview of the important concepts in costing in healthcare, including studies classification according to the type of analysis method (e.g. budget-impact analysis, cost-minimization analysis, cost-effectiveness analysis, cost-utility analysis), types of costs (e.g. direct, indirect and intangible costs) and outcomes (e.g. events prevented, quality adjusted life year - QALY, disability adjusted life year - DALY). Other key components of an economic evaluation such as the models’ perspective, time horizon, modelling approaches (e.g. decision trees or simulation models as the Markov model) and sensitivity analysis are also briefly covered. Finally, we discuss the methodological issues for the identification, measurement and valuation of costs and benefits of pharmacy services, and suggest some recommendations for future studies, including the use of Value of Assessment Frameworks.
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spelling doaj.art-3118fe10f2f6453b87be5117915b5aaa2022-12-21T19:46:35ZengCentro de Investigaciones y Publicaciones FarmaceuticasPharmacy Practice1885-642X1886-36552021-03-01191230210.18549/PharmPract.2021.1.2302Principles of pharmacoeconomic analysis: the case of pharmacist-led interventionsFernanda S. Tonin https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4262-8608Ignacio Aznar-Lou https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6780-5968Vasco M. Pontinha https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3333-1482Roberto Pontarolo https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7049-4363Fernando Fernandez-Llimos https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8529-9595In the past years, several factors such as evidence-based healthcare culture, quality-linked incentives, and patient-centered actions, associated with an important increase of financial constraints and pressures on healthcare budgets, resulted in a growing interest by policy-makers in enlarging pharmacists’ roles in care. Numerous studies have demonstrated positive therapeutic outcomes associated with pharmaceutical services in a wide array of diseases. Yet, the evidence of the economic impact of the pharmacist in decreasing total health expenditures, unnecessary care, and societal costs relies on well-performed, reliable, and transparent economic evaluations, which are scarce. Pharmacoeconomics is a branch of health economics that usually focuses on balancing the costs and benefits of an intervention towards the use of limited resources, aiming at maximizing value to patients, healthcare payers and society through data driven decision making. These decisions can be guide by a health technology assessment (HTA) process that inform governmental players about medical, social, and economic implications of development, diffusion, and use of health technologies – including clinical pharmacy interventions. This paper aims to provide an overview of the important concepts in costing in healthcare, including studies classification according to the type of analysis method (e.g. budget-impact analysis, cost-minimization analysis, cost-effectiveness analysis, cost-utility analysis), types of costs (e.g. direct, indirect and intangible costs) and outcomes (e.g. events prevented, quality adjusted life year - QALY, disability adjusted life year - DALY). Other key components of an economic evaluation such as the models’ perspective, time horizon, modelling approaches (e.g. decision trees or simulation models as the Markov model) and sensitivity analysis are also briefly covered. Finally, we discuss the methodological issues for the identification, measurement and valuation of costs and benefits of pharmacy services, and suggest some recommendations for future studies, including the use of Value of Assessment Frameworks.https://www.pharmacypractice.org/journal/index.php/pp/article/view/2302technology assessment biomedicaleconomics pharmaceuticalcost-benefit analysisquality-adjusted life yearshealth expendituresdecision makingdecision treestreatment outcomepharmaceutical services
spellingShingle Fernanda S. Tonin
Ignacio Aznar-Lou
Vasco M. Pontinha
Roberto Pontarolo
Fernando Fernandez-Llimos
Principles of pharmacoeconomic analysis: the case of pharmacist-led interventions
Pharmacy Practice
technology assessment biomedical
economics pharmaceutical
cost-benefit analysis
quality-adjusted life years
health expenditures
decision making
decision trees
treatment outcome
pharmaceutical services
title Principles of pharmacoeconomic analysis: the case of pharmacist-led interventions
title_full Principles of pharmacoeconomic analysis: the case of pharmacist-led interventions
title_fullStr Principles of pharmacoeconomic analysis: the case of pharmacist-led interventions
title_full_unstemmed Principles of pharmacoeconomic analysis: the case of pharmacist-led interventions
title_short Principles of pharmacoeconomic analysis: the case of pharmacist-led interventions
title_sort principles of pharmacoeconomic analysis the case of pharmacist led interventions
topic technology assessment biomedical
economics pharmaceutical
cost-benefit analysis
quality-adjusted life years
health expenditures
decision making
decision trees
treatment outcome
pharmaceutical services
url https://www.pharmacypractice.org/journal/index.php/pp/article/view/2302
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