title: Paying the right price for pharmaceuticals: a case study of why the comparator matters.
abstract: This article considers the pricing policy for pharmaceuticals in Australia, which is widely seen as having achieved low drug prices. However, compared to New Zealand, the evidence implies that Australia might have improved its performance significantly if it had proactively sought market best pricing. The Australian record suggests that the information sought by authorities may not be sufficient for optimal pricing and that the economic evaluation of pharmaceuticals may be neither necessary nor sufficient for achieving this goal.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Health Economics, Monash University, Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia. jean.spinks@buseco.monash.edu.au
authors.forename: Jean M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Spinks
authors.forename: Jeff R J
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Richardson
mesh_terms: D001315:Australia; D003132:Commerce; D016527:Drug Costs / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D009520:New Zealand; D011050:Policy Making