title: Working toward a common currency: is standardization of cost-effectiveness analysis possible?
abstract: The field of cost-effectiveness has been quietly evolving for several decades. However, concerns and controversies have recently surfaced regarding the lack of standardization with which cost-effectiveness analyses are performed. This attention is due to the increasing use of the technique in rationing health care, setting price and/or reimbursement levels, adopting new technologies, and marketing pharmaceutical products. Is standardization possible while the field is still developing? This article explores possible answers to this question and reviews worldwide efforts aimed at the development of standardized guidelines for cost-effectiveness analysis.
mesh_terms: D000163:Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000191:economics; D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000191:economics; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis / Q000592:standards*; D017850:Economics, Pharmaceutical / Q000592:standards; D017408:Guidelines as Topic; D006801:Humans; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011788:Quality of Life; D012107:Research Design; D012189:Retrospective Studies
chemical_list: D000998:Antiviral Agents