HOMEPRODUCTSCOMPANYCONTACTFAQResearchDictionaryPharmaSign Up FREE or Login

Cost-effectiveness of pharmacotherapy for COPD in ambulatory care: a review.

AbstractRATIONALE, AIMS AND OBJECTIVES:
This article conducts a literature review about the cost-effectiveness of pharmacotherapy for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in ambulatory care.
METHODS:
Relevant economic evaluations were identified by searching Medline (PubMed) and the National Health Service (NHS) Economic Evaluation Database. The search strategy focused on literature reviews and primary economic evaluations. Economic evaluations were included, which compared pharmacotherapy for COPD, chronic bronchitis or pulmonary emphysema with an alternative in terms of costs and health outcomes.
RESULTS:
The majority of economic evaluations show that pharmacotherapy for COPD in ambulatory care is cost-effective. Cost-effectiveness derives from an improvement in lung function and a reduction in the number of exacerbations, which translates into cost savings from fewer hospitalizations. Pharmacotherapy also tends to be more cost-effective in patients with more severe COPD. When applying these results to a specific country or setting, the cost-effectiveness of pharmacotherapy will depend on the distribution of COPD severity among patients, the alternative with which pharmacotherapy is compared, the impact of pharmacotherapy on exacerbations, costs and treatment patterns of exacerbations, and price of pharmacotherapy. Economic evaluations tended to suffer from short-time horizons, restricted scope of included costs and use of various health outcome measures.
CONCLUSIONS:
There is a case to be made in favour of economic evaluations from the societal perspective that are based on a decision-analytic model to allow for extrapolation beyond the duration of clinical trials and that use generic health outcome measures such as quality-adjusted life years.
AuthorsSteven Simoens
JournalJournal of evaluation in clinical practice (J Eval Clin Pract) Vol. 19 Issue 6 Pg. 1004-11 (Dec 2013) ISSN: 1365-2753 [Electronic] England
PMID23590144 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't, Review)
Copyright© 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
Chemical References
  • Bronchodilator Agents
Topics
  • Ambulatory Care
  • Bronchitis, Chronic (drug therapy)
  • Bronchodilator Agents (economics, therapeutic use)
  • Cost-Benefit Analysis
  • Drug Therapy, Combination
  • Health Services (economics)
  • Hospitalization (economics)
  • Humans
  • Infant, Newborn
  • Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive (drug therapy)
  • Pulmonary Emphysema (drug therapy)
  • Respiratory Function Tests

Join CureHunter, for free Research Interface BASIC access!

Take advantage of free CureHunter research engine access to explore the best drug and treatment options for any disease. Find out why thousands of doctors, pharma researchers and patient activists around the world use CureHunter every day.
Realize the full power of the drug-disease research graph!


Choose Username:
Email:
Password:
Verify Password:
Enter Code Shown: