<Emphasis Type="Bold">Background: Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and serotoninnoradrenaline reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs) are approved for the treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD). The allosteric SSRI escitalopram has been shown to be at least as clinically effective as the SNRIs venlafaxine...</emphasis>

Aim: To assess the relative cost effectiveness of escitalopram compared with venlafaxine XR in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD). Methods: An economic evaluation was conducted alongside a double-blind, multinational, randomised clinical trial and examined the costs and quality of...

The College Voor Zorgverzekeringen (CVZ) provides guidance to the Dutch healthcare system on funding and use of new pharmaceutical technologies. This study examined the impact of evidence, process and context factors on CVZ decisions in 2004–2009. A data set of CVZ decisions pertaining to...

Ever since the failed 1999 Royal Commission, England has been attempting to reform its long-term care funding system. More than a decade later, significant changes to the means tested arrangements are yet to be introduced, whilst the pressure to achieve long-term reform mounts linked to...

Using a stochastic frontier approach, this paper explores efficiency in the commissioning of publicly funded social services among 148 English Councils through a six-year panel database (2002-2007), covering institutional and community care. Our estimates provide key policy evidence in a context...