Discrete choice experiments (DCEs) are regularly used in health economics to elicit preferences for healthcare products and programmes. There is growing recognition that DCEs can provide more than information on preferences and, in particular, they have the potential to contribute more directly...

Objective: To evaluate the cost effectiveness of a new product, oral ganciclovir, in comparison to a current therapy, intravenous (IV) ganciclovir, in the maintenance treatment of newly diagnosed cytomegalovirus (CMV) retinitis in patients with AIDS. Design: This was a retrospective economic...

Introduction: Low molecular weight heparins are effective and have a good tolerability profile as first-line prophylaxis for venous thromboembolism (VTE) in major orthopaedic surgery. However, pharmacological inequivalence within the class could lead to differences in cost-effectiveness ratios....

Introduction and objective: In 1983, the launch of cyclosporin was a significant clinical advance for organ transplant recipients. Subsequent drug research led to further advances with the introduction of cyclosporin microemulsion (cyclosporin ME) and tacrolimus. This paper presents the results...

Variable compliance with prescribed drug regimens is a leading source of variability in drug response. Specifics differ by drug and disease. The role of variable compliance was clearly defined in 2 trials of lipid-lowering agents, cholestyramine and gemfibrozil, in which exceptionally careful...

Although risk-factor modification has gained wide acceptance as an effective approach to the prevention of coronary heart disease (CHD), health planners, physicians and patients confront considerable uncertainty over the most appropriate and efficient preventive strategies. Some preventive...

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has been using a cost-effectiveness threshold range between Lstg 20_000 and Lstg 30_000 for over 7 years. What the cost-effectiveness threshold represents, what the appropriate level is for NICE to use, and what the other factors...

Objective: To estimate the cost effectiveness of representatives of three different classes of antidepressants used in major depression in the UK NHS. Design, patients and interventions: A decision-tree model for the treatment of major depression was constructed by interviewing UK GPs and...

The efficacy and toxicity of any given drug can vary substantially from one individual to another. The heterogeneity in individual genetics contributes, in part, to this variability. Pharmacogenomics uses each patient