The European journal of health economics : HEPAC : health economics in prevention and care
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The potential of secondary prevention measures, such as cancer screening, to produce cost savings in the healthcare sector is a controversial issue in healthcare economics. Potential savings are calculated by comparing treatment costs with the cost of a prevention program. When survivors' subsequent unrelated health care costs are included in the calculation, however, the overall cost of disease prevention rises. ⋯ Beyond that age, the balance between a recipient's social security contributions and insurance system expenditure is negative. The paper clarifies the relevance of healthcare costs not related to the prevented disease to the economic evaluation of prevention programs, particularly in the case of fatal diseases such as colorectal cancer. The results of the study imply that, from an economic perspective, the participation of at-risk individuals in disease prevention programs should be promoted.
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The consequences of consumer-driven health care under different health insurance plans are studied by means of a game theoretic approach. Suitable demand-side cost-sharing can induce consumer behavior that avoids over-treatment when there are information asymmetries between providers and consumers, leading to the efficient recommendations and provision of treatment by providers. ⋯ The two models, however, yield higher welfare for consumers. Hence, the findings in this paper favor some amount of regulation in health-care markets.
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Surgical site infection is commonly caused by Staphylococcus aureus. The multiresistant strains (MRSA) are resistant to most antibiotic prophylaxis regimens. Our aim was to explore whether there is a threshold of MRSA prevalence at which switching to routine glycopeptide-based antibiotic prophylaxis becomes cost-effective. ⋯ The indicative model provides a framework for evaluation. More work is needed to understand the impact of antibiotic resistance over time in these currently effective antibiotics.
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The objective of the present study was to describe a new model of the cost-effectiveness of treatment of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) and its application to a comparison of pregabalin versus venlafaxine extended-release (XR) from a Spanish healthcare perspective. Microsimulation techniques, including Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAM-A) score, number of weeks with minimal or no anxiety (HAM-A