Objective: To compare the costs of 2 atypical drug therapies (olanzapine and risperidone) with one another and with a conventional antipsychotic (haloperidol) in the treatment of schizophrenia. Design and setting: The analysis is based on a simulation model with parameter values taken mainly...

An international review of the costs of stroke was conducted to explore data sources, and cost variables as well as to compare estimates of the annual aggregated cost (prevalence-based) and total per patient long-term cost (incidence-based) of care. Dutch, English, French, German, Italian and...

Epidural analgesia and intravenous analgesia with opioids are two techniques for providing pain relief for women in labour. Labour pain is comparable to surgical pain in its severity, and epidural analgesia provides better relief from this pain than intravenous analgesia; a meta-analysis...

Background: Costs of inpatient days in hospitals are frequently the main drivers of total treatment costs, and their unit cost can markedly affect the outcomes of an economic evaluation. In many countries, the availability of unit cost data is limited and unit costs are often based on data from...

Background: Gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GORD) is widespread in the general population and presents in most cases with heartburn as the main symptom. The severity of symptoms is not necessarily related to erosive damage to the oesophagus due to acid reflux, but the frequency and severity...

Parallel trade in pharmaceuticals has become a major European Union policy issue with several `solutions' being considered by the European Commission, Member State governments and the pharmaceutical industry in the `Bangemann Process'. This paper discusses the issues from an economic and public...

Depressive illness is a common, often unrecognised and untreated condition with substantial associated costs, particularly indirect costs (e.g. lost productivity and absenteeism). The improved tolerability profile of fluoxetine and associated lower discontinuation rates, the relative safety of...

Objective: To assess the goals, strategic focus, structure, capabilities, activities and effectiveness of health economics (HE) departments in the Canadian pharmaceutical industry, to examine how these have evolved, and the implications of HE in the future of the pharmaceutical industry. Design...