We propose a new prize (reward) system for drug innovation which pays a price based on the value of health benefits accrued over time. Willingness to pay for a unit of health benefit is determined based on the cost-effectiveness ratio of palliative/nursing care. We solve the problem of limited...

In cost-effectiveness analyses, models are used typically to synthesize the best available data and/or extrapolate beyond clinical trial data. Ideally, models should be validated both internally and externally. The purpose of this paper is to suggest a test for internal validation of models...

Quality-adjusted life years are valid representations of the preferences of individuals for health outcomes only under a set of restrictive assumptions. One of the key assumptions is additive utility independence (AUI). Recently, Bleichrodt and Filko [Bleichrodt and Filko, 2008. Journal of...

After acquiring a varicella virus infection, the virus can reactivate and cause herpes zoster (HZ)—a painful skin rash. A complication of HZ is long-term persistence of pain after the rash has resolved (so-called postherpetic neuralgia, PHN). We aimed to describe the epidemiology of HZ/PHN and...

Considerable methodological research has been conducted on handling uncertainty in cost-effectiveness analysis. The current literature suggests the concepts of net health benefits and cost-effectiveness accepta-bility curves to circumvent the technical shortcomings of cost-effectiveness ratio...

The inclusion of economic evaluations as part of clinical trials has led to concerns about the adequacy of trial sample size to support such analysis. The analytical tool of cost-effectiveness analysis is the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER), which is compared with a threshold value...

The Major difference between the United States and Canada with respect to health expenditures lies in the degree of centralization of the cost control process.