Pharmacoeconomic considerations for inflammatory bowel disease in the era of biological therapies.
The biological therapies have revolutionized the ability to treat patients with inflammatory bowel disease. While these therapies have proven efficacy, they are not without significant medication expense. This has raised the question of whether society can afford these new therapies. Costs associated with inflammatory bowel disease have focused traditionally on direct costs of disease, with the greatest contributions due to surgeries and hospitalization. Initial investigations suggest that biologics can reduce healthcare utilization and their associated costs. Additionally, the importance of indirect costs and improvements in quality of life must also be considered when examining the cost efficiency of these new therapeutic modalities, which may result in a cost savings for our healthcare system.
Thomas
Tojo
T
University of Chicago Hospitals, 5841 S. Maryland Avenue MC 4076, Chicago, IL 60637, USA. tojo.thomas@uchospitals.edu
Cohen
Russell D
RD
D001691:Biological Therapy / Q000191:economics*; D017850:Economics, Pharmaceutical; D006801:Humans; D015212:Inflammatory Bowel Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000191:economics*