Question

Priority setting in health care is extremely important in resource limited systems. As a result, a good knowledge and understanding of the principles and concepts of Pharmacoeconomics and economic evaluation analysis of health care interventions and technologies would enable trainee Pharmacists to contribute meaningfully to the selection and use of these resources for improved health outcomes.

Answer the under listed questions

1. The purpose of economic evaluation of medicines and technologies for health is to inform appropriate choices that gives value for money. Explain what is meant by this statement 3 marks

2. a) To be able to do a robust economic evaluation assessment of a health technology, the analyst or the reviewer should be able identify all cost elements involved. List the different types of costs that may be involved totally in the assessment and explain what each means, using every day examples 4 marks.

b) Which of the cost elements mentioned above in (a) is difficult to measure and why 2 marks?

3. For decision making in Pharmacy Practice which of the methods of economic evaluation analysis would you recommend to policy makers . Give reason(s) for your answer 4 Marks

4. a. Explain the term outcome measures in Pharmacoeconomics. 2 Marks

Answer 1

Answer1) Economic evaluation helps to make informed choices by having cost and benefit analysis. A trainee could analyse the benefits that medicines and technologies could draw by examining the health indicators and looking at relevant outcomes of health. He can guage the technological improvements to make a better decision. On the other hand, can compare the cost involved in improving upon medicines and bringing in new technology. Making such an economic evaluation would help the trainee to make decision with holding to create value for money.

Answer2)(I)Capital cost :It is the cost involved to set up the technology or introduce a new drug, it is defined as one time cost that firm has to incur in order to buy in new technology or to upgrade to a newer version of existing one.

.II) Operating cost: It is defined as day to day cost that pharma firm has to incur in order to utilize the available technology. It can be in the form of electicity expenditure, maintainance cost to use pre installed machines and equipments like an X ray machine or purchasing medicines stocks to provide in patient care to patients on a dayto day basis.

III) Induced cost : It is the cost that a technology induced to bring with itself alternative course of actions that otherwise would not have required earlier. For example a new scanning machine requires to have mutliple diagnostic tests in order to produce high quality error free results, but at the same time leads to increase operating cost for the firm.

answer2 b) Induced cost may be difficult to measure, as it is not easy to track the impacts that it can create.

Answer 3) randomised control testing, could one of the approaches to verify results of a new drug or new technology.It can verify appropriately whether a new drug is effectively reducing the ailment if a particular testing group would produce the desired results in comparison to controlled group. It is relatively practical approach to test the drug.

Answe4) Outcomes measures here means the results of treatment, it could be in the form of recovery rate or survival chances, quality of life.