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Informing resource allocation decision making: economic evaluations of pharmacogenetic tests
Author(s) -
Payne Katherine,
Gurwitz David
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
drug development research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.582
H-Index - 60
eISSN - 1098-2299
pISSN - 0272-4391
DOI - 10.1002/ddr.20429
Subject(s) - scarcity , psychological intervention , relevance (law) , health care , economic evaluation , critical appraisal , intervention (counseling) , test (biology) , resource allocation , resource (disambiguation) , business , public economics , psychology , environmental resource management , economics , medicine , political science , economic growth , computer science , nursing , alternative medicine , paleontology , computer network , pathology , law , biology , microeconomics , market economy
Abstract In some countries, economic evaluations now have a prominent role and provide information to use in resource allocation decisions for health care technologies and interventions. This editorial describes the importance of understanding the degree and extent of uncertainty in a published economic evaluation. Some countries have diverted considerable resources toward health technology assessments (HTAs) and appraisals of health care interventions using deliberative decision‐making processes. However, given the scarcity of health care resources on a global scale, there is a growing need to support other countries that do not have the skill base or considerable resources needed to conduct their own HTAs and appraisal of the evidence. As a minimum, it is vital that individual countries are able to understand the relevance of published economic evaluation of an intervention, such as a pharmacogenetic test, to their own practice. Careful appraisal of the relevance of the findings is crucial before decision makers decide that a particular pharmacogenetic test is an appropriate use of scarce health care resources in their country. Drug Dev Res 71: 445–448, 2010. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.