The Health Plan Employer Data and Information Set (HEDIS(R)) of the National Committee for Quality Assurance is a set of standardized performance measures, the goal of which is to enable purchasers and consumers to evaluate the quality of different health plans. The HEDIS(R) `Use of Appropriate...

Screening programs for sickle cell disease, when effective, can reduce morbidity and mortality as a direct consequence of patient education and optimized clinical management. However, informed patient or parental consent is necessary prior to the screening process as a person's sickle status is...

Objective: To estimate the pharmacoeconomic impact for the French Social Security System of preventing recurrent acute rhinopharyngitis (RARP) in at-risk children with OM-85 BV, an immunostimulating agent indicated for the prevention of recurrences. Design: A decision-analysis model. The...

Objective: To assess and compare the costs and effectiveness of different vaccination strategies against hepatitis B in Switzerland. Design: A birth cohort of 85 000 individuals was followed over their lifetime, using a decision-tree analysis. Published data were used to simulate the risk of...

Optimal management of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1)-infected children requires a commitment from the healthcare delivery system, healthcare providers, and affected families and caregivers. When adequate resources are available (as in most industrialised nations), an aggressive...

Objective: To describe the use of hospital and community services for children infected with HIV and estimate the cost per patient-year by stage of HIV infection during the era of antiretroviral monotherapy. Design: Data on the use of hospital services were collected from case notes; the use of...

The serotonin 5-HT3 receptor antagonists or `setrons' have become the standard of care for the prevention of chemotherapy-induced emesis (CIE) and are first-line therapy for acute CIE in healthcare organisations worldwide. However, their superior efficacy versus standard antiemetics comes at a...

Objective: Pertussis is a highly contagious infection affecting mainly children. Acellular pertussis vaccines were recently introduced in Canada based on evidence of improved safety and efficacy over whole cell vaccines, the current standard of care. The following study reports the economic...

Epilepsy is a chronic treatable condition for which new diagnostic tools and several new drugs and non-pharmacological treatments are now available. The cost profile of these options is assessed here through an overview of the available literature focusing on studies of childhood epilepsy....

This study assessed the willingness of parents to pay for a reduction in the postoperative emesis experienced by children. The willingness-to-pay technique was used to value the intangible benefits, such as relief from anxiety and discomfort, resulting from a reduction in postoperative emesis in...