Pharmacoeconomics of hypertension control: basic principles of economic evaluation.
Pharmacoeconomics, the science of assigning costs and outcomes of drug therapy can be applied to antihypertensive drug therapy. There are five principle tools: cost identification, cost minimization, cost benefit, cost effectiveness and cost utility. If only drug aquisition costs are considered, there are marked differences among antihypertensive drug classes. These differences become less marked when the costs per quality adjusted life year are calculated. Often, differences among patients rather than differences among drug prices account for the bulk of variation.
Wilson
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Cardiovascular Risk Factor Reduction Unit, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon. wilsont@duke.usask.ca
Chockalingam
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Quest
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D000328:Adult; D000959:Antihypertensive Agents / Q000191:economics* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D017281:Cost of Illness; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D017850:Economics, Pharmaceutical; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000191:economics*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019057:Quality-Adjusted Life Years
D000959:Antihypertensive Agents