figure 1
Economic evaluation of healthcare programmes
Are both costs and consequences of the
No
Examines only Examines only
consequences costs
Is there
Partial evaluation
No
comparison of
Outcome
Cost description
two or more
description
Partial evaluation
alternatives? Yes
Efficacy or
Cost analysis
effectiveness
evaluation
Adapted from reference 12
treatments are compared only on
the basis of costs). For instance,
a cost-analysis study 14 conducted
when 5-HT 3 receptor antagonists
were introduced showed that
the introduction of such therapy
entailed an increase of 3–10% of
total costs compared with standard
antiemetic treatments at the time.
Full economic evaluations are
those studies where two or more
treatments are compared on
the basis of both clinical
consequences and
costs. 14 They can be
cost-minimisation
analyses (where
the incremental
effectiveness
of one health
programme or
technology compared
48 | 2018 | hospitalpharmacyeurope.
com
to the other is the same), cost-
effectiveness analyses (measuring
incremental cost of achieving an
incremental health benefit, such
as life-years gained), cost–utility
analyses (where effectiveness is
adjusted for quality of life), or
cost–benefit analyses (where both
incremental costs and outcomes
are valued in monetary terms).
When considering the adoption
of a therapy to prevent or
treat CINV episodes
over an existing
practice, the
additional benefits
provided by the
drug (improved
outcomes) need to
be weighed against
its incremental
cost (Figure 1). This