The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) invited the manufacturer of alitretinoin (Basilea Pharmaceuticals Ltd, Basel, Switzerland) to submit evidence for the clinical and cost effectiveness of this drug for the treatment of patients with severe chronic hand eczema (CHE),...

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) invited the manufacturer of golimumab (Schering-Plough/Centocor) to submit evidence for the clinical and cost effectiveness of this drug for the treatment of active and progressive psoriatic arthritis (PsA) in patients who have...

There is increasing recognition that decision modelling is central to health technology assessment and, in particular, to analyses to support formal decision making regarding the funding of the use of new technologies. In part, the key role of decision analysis stems from the need to handle...

Background: Gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GORD) causes some of the most frequently seen symptoms in both primary and secondary care. An estimated 4-5 patients (age range 18-60 years) per 10_000 (0.045% of the general population) are receiving maintenance proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) for...

Background: The use of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) can enable dose intensification of chemotherapy in small-cell lung cancer (SCLC). However, given its acquisition cost, it is important to assess its cost effectiveness within a resource-constrained health service. Objective: To...

Markov models are often employed to represent stochastic processes, that is, random processes that evolve over time. In a healthcare context, Markov models are particularly suited to modelling chronic disease. In this article, we describe the use of Markov models for economic evaluation of...

Objective: To conduct a Bayesian value-of-information analysis of the cost effectiveness of pentoxifylline (vs placebo) as an adjunct to compression for venous leg ulcers. Methods: A probabilistic Markov model was developed to estimate mean clinical benefits and costs associated with oral...

Introduction: The purpose of this article is to demonstrate the application and feasibility of using value of information analysis to help set priorities for research as part of the UK National Health Service (NHS) Health Technology Assessment Programme. Probabilistic decision analysis and value...