This article examines the determinants of the demand for pharmaceuticals in Catalonia using the latest available official survey data, having accounted for the individual differences in cost-sharing among consumers, as well as the influence of self-medication. The article builds a model of the...

Although most commonly used drugs cause adverse effects, some of them with potentially serious consequences, relatively little is known about their economic impact. The purpose of this review is to summarise information describing the cost of treatment of drug-induced adverse effects as an...

Economic evaluations of hepatitis B vaccination programmes in Spain or particular regions of Spain were identified and analysed, and their methodologies and data were compared. The results revealed important differences in methodology and the way in which different parameters, such as duration...

Deregulation of antibacterials is a recurrent topic in the debate on pharmaceutical policy. This article focuses on one aspect of pharmaceutical regulation, namely the requirement of a medical prescription for purchasing antibacterials. However, a strategy of deregulation should not only concern...

Objective: To compare the costs to the Spanish healthcare system of 35 days' treatment with triflusal (600 mg/day) and aspirin (300 mg/day) in patients with confirmed acute myocardial infarction within 24 hours of onset of symptoms. Design: A cost minimisation analysis based on the results of...

The article criticizes the present variability of economic appraisal methodologies and supports their standardization as a means of ensuring the comparability of the results of studies done by different researchers. Standards should be theoretically sound and feasible, and are probably best...

Current health reform proposals in most developing countries stress health gain as the chief evaluation criterion. Essential service packages are formulated using cost-effectiveness methods for the selection of interventions without sufficient regard for other factors that are significant for...