title: Use of pharmacoeconomics information--report of the ISPOR Task Force on use of pharmacoeconomic/health economic information in health-care decision making.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Despite the growing number of pharmacoeconomic (PE)/health economic (HE) studies, very little is known about their use by decision makers. The objectives of the Task Force were to ensure that the good research practices of PE/HE studies pay attention to the needs of health-care decision makers and to develop a "toolbox" for the health-care decision maker wanting to interpret and use PE/HE studies.
  
  
  METHODS
  The membership of the Task Force consisted of individuals involved in making decisions about the availability or use of medicines and researchers into the use of economic evaluations. The group communicated by E-mail and face-to-face meetings. A literature review of decision makers' attitudes toward PE/HE studies and published economic evaluation guidelines was undertaken. In addition, a focus group discussion was held with opinion leaders in managed care pharmacy.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The literature review identified 16 surveys of decision makers' attitudes toward PE/HE studies and 15 published guidelines that outlined reporting requirements for economic evaluations. These were reviewed and classified. Based on the published literature and comments from decision makers, seven additional reporting requirements for studies were specified.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  While the Task Force's additional reporting requirements may be helpful to decision makers, they raise a number of issues. These include the feasibility of meeting the additional requirements, whether decision makers should receive more education in economic evaluation, and whether there should be more study of health-care decision-making procedures themselves.
authors.affiliation: University of York, York, UK. chedir@york.ac.uk
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Drummond
authors.forename: Ruth
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Brown
authors.forename: A Mark
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Fendrick
authors.forename: Pete
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Fullerton
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Neumann
authors.forename: Rod
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Taylor
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Barbieri
mesh_terms: D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D003659:Decision Making, Organizational; D004470:Economics, Medical; D017850:Economics, Pharmaceutical; D017408:Guidelines as Topic; D033181:Information Dissemination; D014481:United States