A Survey of Pharmacoeconomics in the Canadian Pharmaceutical Industry
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Information Journal. Vol. 32, 619-627, 1998 Printed in the USA. All rights reserved.
Drug
A SURVEY OF PHARMACOECONOMICS IN THE CANADIAN PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRY PENGJ. CHIANG AND T. R. EINARSON, PHD Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
OBJECTIVES-To examine the adoption of phamcoeconomics by the Canadian pharmaceutical industry. METHODS-A mail survey was sent to all companies which indicated that they were appropriate candidates. Very small firms and those not currently marketing drugs were excluded. The survey determined when pharmacoeconomics activities had begun, which departments were responsible, drugs examined, and types of analyses undertaken. RESULTS-Of the 36 surveys mailed, 25 (69%) were returned. Nineteen (76%) companies were currently involved in phamcoeconomics studies with an average of 1.5full-time equivalents (FTEs)per firm.Seventy nine percent had done cost effectiveness studies and 58% cost minimization studies. Eighty percent of respondents had analyzed marketed drugs, 52% had done so in the premarketing phase, and 92% planned to conduct studies within the next year: CONCLUSIONS-Canadian companies have quickly adopted phamcoeconomics and its use is likely to expand in the future. Key Words: Pharmacoeconomics; Canada
sources to spend on health care, society cannot support all treatments and pharmaceutiPHARMACOECONOMICS IS A relatively cals that provide a positive effect and must new discipline developed from the broader somehow choose one over another. Pharmafield of health economics to help solve the coeconomics however, is a tool used to assist problems of health care financing and organiin decision making, not replace it. It is more zation. Specifically, pharmacoeconomics than just simple unit cost comparisons beconcerns the application of methods of ecocause it provides a measure of value for clininomic evaluation of health care programs to cal outcomes such as fewer side effects or drugs (1). It involves identification, measurebetter performance in terms of cure, palliament, and analysis of the overall cost and tion, or prevention of disease. The overall consequences of drug therapy. Pharmacoecogoal of pharmacoeconomics is to select treatnomic studies compare pharmaceutical prodments and drugs for support such that the ucts and their relevant alternatives with reoverall benefits are maximized within the spect to both their costs and consequences. constrained resources available. Because there are increasingly limited rePharmacoeconomic studies can be conducted at any point in a product’s life cycle. Studies conducted at the early stages of a Reprint address: Dr. Einarson, Faculty of Pharmacy, product’s development can be used to maxUniversity of Toronto, 19 Russell Street, Toronto, ON imize the capture of as much pharmacoecoM5S 2S2, Canada, e-mail: 76766.72@compusewe. nomic information as possible before the corn.
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