[e-drug] Pharmacoeconomics and role in drugs selection (3)

["Pauline Norris" <pauline.norris@stonebow.otago.ac.nz>]

E-DRUG: Pharmacoeconomics and role in drugs selection (3)

*Pharmacoeconomics and its role in drug selection*
We thought Mona Awadh (and other e-druggers) might be interested to know 
of some research undertaken at the University of Otago in New Zealand on 
the theoretical and actual use of pharmacoeconomics in drug selection.

*Theoretical*
A group of final-year pharmacy students grappled with one of the topics 
that Mona mentions and undertook a literature review entitled 
“Pharmacoeconomics: A reliable tool for decisions on new medicines?” (1).

They found over 1,000 relevant articles and from the ones reviewed 
concluded that “Providing methodological guidelines are followed, 
methodology is transparent and bias is minimised, pharmacoeconomics can 
be a reliable tool to assist in decisions on the introduction of new 
medicines”. They also emphasized the need to educate the users.

Their findings seem to be in-line with Douglas Ball’s thinking that 
pharmacoeconomics probably is reliable, providing there is sufficient 
evidence to support the models and sufficient expertise to evaluate them

*Actual*

We have recently examined the content, timeliness, use, and influence of 
pharmacoeconomic assessments of some key drugs provided to New Zealand 
hospitals to assist with formulary decisions. (2) Twelve analyses were 
provided to the hospitals by the government’s Pharmaceutical Management 
Agency PHARMAC over a two and a half year period (2002-2005). We 
concluded that the analyses, whilst viewed favourably in general, had 
only a modest influence on the formulary decision-making process, mostly 
due to a lack of timeliness. Of the 132 hospital evaluations of 
medicines for which a pharmacoeconomic assessment was available, only 26 
(20%) took place after PHARMAC distributed the relevant assessment to 
the hospitals. The remaining 80% took place before a pharmacoeconomic 
assessment was available to assist with decision-making.

Timeliness of information is important in influencing decisions, but we 
acknowledge that an accurate thorough analysis is difficult to achieve 
in a timely manner.

Regards

June Tordoff and Pauline Norris

1. Chesney K, Barazanchi N, Billy R, Koo J, Rabih N, Slaimankhel J, 
Tordoff J. Pharmacoeconomics: A reliable tool for decisions on new 
medicines? J Pharm Pract Res 2006; 36(1): 12-15
2. Tordoff JM, Murphy JE, Norris PT, Reith DM. Use of centrally 
developed pharmacoeconomic assessments for local formulary decisions. Am 
J Health Syst Pharm2006; 63(17):1613-1618

June Tordoff, MPharm. MRPharmS MPS, Lecturer

E-mail: june.tordoff@stonebow.otago.ac.nz 
<mailto:june.tordoff@stonebow.otago.ac.nz> Ph: 64 3 474 0999 ex 8192

Pauline Norris, PhD, Senior Lecturer
Leader, Pharmacy Practice Research
E-mail: pauline.norris@stonebow.otago.ac.nz 
<mailto:pauline.norris@stonebow.otago.ac.nz> Ph: 64 3 479 7359

School of Pharmacy, University of Otago, Box 913,

Dunedin, New Zealand