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...

To test the effect of differences in acquisition cost and budget-based monetary compensation systems on the intent to support the adoption of a cost-effective new drug, over 350 hospital pharmacy directors were asked to indicate their intentions as to the adoption of a cost-effective new...

Disease management initiatives are becoming increasingly popular in the US as a way for managed-care plans to care for their members with chronic conditions. Diabetes is one of the most expensive chronic conditions, both in terms of human lives and actual healthcare costs. Managed-care plans are...

Background: Asthma is a major public health problem in developed countries. In Canada, the prevalence of asthma is approximately 5 to 7%, with some provincial variation. A retrospective study using data collected in 1990 estimated the total costs of asthma in Canada to be between $Can504 million...

Schizophrenia continues to be a major healthcare expenditure in our society. Antipsychotic drugs were introduced in the 1950s and revolutionised its treatment; however, these drugs also produced numerous adverse effects. The direct and indirect costs of schizophrenia were estimated to total...

Disease state management (DSM) is a new concept in healthcare which is rapidly growing in terms of interest and potential as an effective approach to improving patient outcomes. The term DSM refers to a `systematic population-based approach to identify persons at risk, intervene with specific...

An extensive MEDLINE search revealed a paucity of studies assessing economic outcomes associated with managing emphysema. Consequently, we estimated the annual levels of National Health Service (NHS) resource use and corresponding costs (at 1995/96 prices), by performing a subgroup analysis of a...

Disease management programs have been implemented into the German healthcare system. According to recent legislation they must include structured treatment and teaching programs for patients with diabetes mellitus and/or hypertension. This paper provides an overview of the current situation in...

The treatment and prevention of tuberculosis have gained importance as the number of cases continues to increase worldwide and the ability of the disease to pass from one area to another becomes progressively greater. Interventions used in the US to help control the disease include the...

The purpose of this study is to determine drug costs and the sociodemographic and clinical determinants of drug costs in a large open cohort of HIV-positive adult men and women in British Columbia, Canada from 1993 to 1995. The study is descriptive and population-based using time-series data....