The organisation of inpatient care provision has undergone significant reform in many southern European countries. Overall across Europe, public management is moving towards the introduction of more flexibility and autonomy . In this setting, the promotion of the further decentralisation of...

En el presente trabajo, los a\~nos de vida ajustados por la calidad (AVAC), son caracterizados como funciones de utilidad von Newman--Morgenstern. Esta caracterizaci\'on se efect\'ua para dos problemas de elecci\'on: la elecci\'on entre loter{\'\i}as definidas sobre estados de salud cr\'onicos y...

This paper analyses whether or not tax subsidies to private medical insurance are self-financing by means of a structural approach. We construct a simulation routine based on a microeconometric discrete choice model that allows us to evaluate the impact of premium changes on the utilisation of...

Can extending social welfare expenditures promote economic growth? This issue has been discussed extensively, with some research pointing to net benefits while others find a net negative impact. Insight can be gained by careful analysis of several sub-questions. For example, for two countries...

Background: A recent study found fewer hospitalizations for congestive heart failure (CHF) patients receiving high-dose versus low-dose statin therapy. Objective: To examine the cost effectiveness of high-dose versus low-dose statin therapy in CHF patients. Methods: Two scenarios...

Strategies to change the existing mix of innovative and 'me-too' drugs are intended to increase societal value of a given investment in R&D by providing an incentive for firms to invest in drugs that are more likely to be clinically innovative. How can financial incentives be used to change this...

Background: Rituximab maintenance therapy was shown to significantly extend overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) in relapsed/refractory follicular lymphoma (FL) in the pivotal EORTC 20981 trial. Objective: To assess the long-term costs and cost effectiveness of rituximab...

Background: With the rapid growth in the volume of HIV-related studies that address drug interactions, appropriate medication regimens, and when and how to alter drug regimens, it is challenging for physicians to stay informed. Physicians require knowledge about all drugs taken by HIV patients...

Erlotinib (Tarceva), an oral epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor, is associated with modest improvements in survival in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who have previously received one or more prior chemotherapy regimens. In a well designed...