title: [Pharmacoeconomics--survey and status].
abstract: Pharmacoeconomics is a subdiscipline of health economics. There are two main areas of application: economic evaluation (cost-effectiveness, cost-utility and cost-benefit analysis) and regulation of the drug market, e.g. price control, reimbursement mechanisms linked to prices (reference prices), parallel trade, research and development (R&D), and patents. It is shown how price regulation has led to price stability in the Danish drug market with a price level on or [table: see text] slightly below the European level. The basic principles of cost-effectiveness analysis are outlined followed by a critical discussion of the use of guidelines in connection with application for reimbursement. It is noted that many methodological problems still have not been settled definitively leading to many low quality economic evaluations.
authors.affiliation: Sundhedsøkonomi, Institut for Sundhedstjenesteforskning, Syddansk Universitet, Winsløwparken 19, 3., DK-5000 Odense C.
authors.forename: Kjeld Møller
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Pedersen
mesh_terms: D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D003718:Denmark; D016527:Drug Costs / Q000639:trends; D004345:Drug Industry / Q000191:economics; D015507:Drugs, Investigational / Q000191:economics; D017850:Economics, Pharmaceutical / Q000639:trends; D006801:Humans; D007348:Insurance, Health / Q000191:economics; D012051:Reimbursement Mechanisms / Q000639:trends
chemical_list: D015507:Drugs, Investigational