title: Cost-effectiveness analysis: a proposal of new reporting standards in statistical analysis.
abstract: Cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA) is a method for evaluating the outcomes and costs of competing strategies designed to improve health, and has been applied to a variety of different scientific fields. Yet there are inherent complexities in cost estimation and CEA from statistical perspectives (e.g., skewness, bidimensionality, and censoring). The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio that represents the additional cost per unit of outcome gained by a new strategy has served as the most widely accepted methodology in the CEA. In this article, we call for expanded perspectives and reporting standards reflecting a more comprehensive analysis that can elucidate different aspects of available data. Specifically, we propose that mean- and median-based incremental cost-effectiveness ratios and average cost-effectiveness ratios be reported together, along with relevant summary and inferential statistics, as complementary measures for informed decision making.
authors.affiliation: a Division of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Department of Public Health Sciences , University of California , Davis , California , USA.
authors.forename: Heejung
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Bang
authors.forename: Hongwei
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhao
mesh_terms: D001569:Benzodiazepines / Q000191:economics / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic / Q000191:economics* / Q000379:methods; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D003627:Data Interpretation, Statistical; D006801:Humans; D000077152:Olanzapine; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000191:economics / Q000401:mortality; D015996:Survival Rate / Q000639:trends
chemical_list: D001569:Benzodiazepines; D000077152:Olanzapine