Health plans have generally elected to build their own disease management programmes using their own resources. In addition to the widespread belief among health plans that their mission includes active management of chronically ill members despite their lack of background in that area, the...

Thiazolidinediones (TZDs), including pioglitazone and rosiglitazone, have been prescribed for a number of years as monotherapy or combination therapy for glycemic control of type 2 diabetes mellitus. It has been hypothesized that the clinical advantages offered by TZDs compared with other...

Patients now have a more active role in medical decisions than ever before. Their growing participation has influenced the health industry enormously, and is undoubtedly an irreversible trend. With access to abundant health information, patients are more informed about disease, diagnosis, and...

Background: Policy makers are increasingly interested in developing performance indicators that measure hospital efficiency. These indicators may give the purchasers of health services an additional regulatory tool to contain health expenditure. Objective: Using panel data, this study compares...

In many countries, including Thailand, there is an increasing impetus to use economic evaluation to allow more explicit and transparent healthcare priority setting. However, an important question for policy makers in low- and middle-income countries is whether it is appropriate and feasible to...

The potential for parallel trade in the European Union (EU) has grown with the accession of low price countries and the harmonisation of registration requirements. Parallel trade implies a conflict between the principle of autonomy of member states to set their own pharmaceutical prices, the...

There is increasing use of economic evaluation to support decision-makers in health services for allocation of scarce healthcare resources. However, information necessary for economic evaluations cannot always be derived from well-conducted prospective clinical studies, and decision-analytical...

This article examines the potential implications of introducing a single currency among the Member States of the European Union for national pharmaceutical prices and spending. In doing so, it provides a brief account of the direct effects of introducing a single currency on pharmaceutical...