Pharmacoeconomics

Question 1

what is pharmacoeconomics?

Answer 1

science of comparing the value of one drug therapy to another

Question 2

what is value?

Answer 2

a weighting if cost and benefits

Question 3

what are direct medical costs?

Answer 3

cost for a specific healthcare service

Question 4

what are direct non-medical costs?

Answer 4

costs needed to receive health care (ex: transportation)

Question 5

what are indirect costs?

Answer 5

loss of productivity

Question 6

what are intangible costs?

Answer 6

reflects pain & suffering

Question 7

if the effects of two drugs are the same, what anaysis should be used?

Answer 7

cost-minimization

Question 8

what does a cost-effectiveness analysis compare?

Answer 8

costs and outcomes of 2 different interventions

Question 9

in a cost effective analysis, cost is measured in what unit?

Answer 9

monetary units ($)

Question 10

how are outcomes expressed in a cost-effectiveness analysis?

Answer 10

health outcomes measured in natural health units such as days w/o sx, years of life saved, or change in surrogate endpoint

Question 11

what is the goal of performing a cost-effective analysis?

Answer 11

find the max benefit for a given cost or find minimum cost for a given benefit

Question 12

Can the cost-effective analysis compare more than 1 outcome at a time?

Answer 12

no, you can only consider one variable at a times

Question 13

what does a cost-utility analysis compare?

Answer 13

the cost & benefits of 2/more interventions that have different health benefits

Question 14

in a cost utility analysis, “utility” is a measure of ____

Answer 14

patient preference for a particular outcome/intervention from death to perfect health

Question 15

what is the unit of measurement in cost-utility analysis?

Answer 15

QUALY (quality of life years) & cost is in $

Question 16

what are 2 benefits of cost-utility analysis?

Answer 16

1. combines more than 1 measure of effectiveness

2. combines morbidity and mortality data

Question 17

what are 2 limitations of cost-utility analysis?

Answer 17

1. requires specialized/validated tools

2. sometimes hard to measure/define

Question 18

what does a cost-benefit analysis compare?

Answer 18

costs and outcomes of two different interventions, but it converts evrything to $$

Question 19

in a cost-benefit analysis is it possible to compare different interventions with different outcomes?

Answer 19

yes

Question 20

why is cost-benefit analysis not often used in healthcare?

Answer 20

it is unethical to place a monetary value on health outcomes in a lot of cases