title: Costs of drugs for treatment of rheumatic diseases.
abstract: The cost of drugs is becoming an issue worldwide, in particular for inflammatory rheumatic diseases. In the current review, an overview of the scene is given with a specific emphasis on accessibility for those patients in real need of the available expensive treatments. The authors propose 7 principles for discussion that need to be addressed and are a responsibility for all stakeholders in rheumatology.
authors.affiliation: Department of Development and Regeneration , Skeletal Biology and Engineering Research Center KU Leuven, Rheumatology University Hospital Leuven , Leuven , Belgium.
authors.forename: Rene
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Westhovens
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health, I-CHER Interuniversity Centre for Health Economics Research, Ghent University , Ghent , Belgium.
authors.forename: Lieven
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Annemans
keywords: Arthritis; Economic Evaluations; Treatment