Applied health economics and health policy
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Appl Health Econ Health Policy · Oct 2019
Public Health Impact and Cost-Effectiveness of Non-live Adjuvanted Recombinant Zoster Vaccine in Canadian Adults.
In Canada, incidences of herpes zoster (HZ) and postherpetic neuralgia (PHN) are increasing, posing a significant burden on the healthcare system. This study aimed to determine the public health impact and cost effectiveness of an adjuvanted recombinant zoster vaccine (RZV) compared to no vaccination and to the live attenuated vaccine (ZVL) in Canadians aged 60 years and older. ⋯ The cost-utility analysis suggested that RZV would be cost effective in the Canadian population compared with no vaccination and vaccination with ZVL at a willingness-to-pay threshold of $50,000.
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Appl Health Econ Health Policy · Jun 2019
A Payer Perspective of the Hospital Inpatient Additional Care Costs of Antimicrobial Resistance in France: A Matched Case-Control Study.
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has become one of the biggest threats to global public health given its association with mortality, morbidity and cost of health care. However, little is known on the economic burden of hospitalization attributable to AMR from a public health insurance perspective. We assessed the excess costs to the French public health insurance system attributable to AMR infections in hospitals. ⋯ AMR causes substantial cost burden in France for the public health insurance. Our study confirms the need to reinforce programs to prevent AMR infection and thereby reduce their economic burden.
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Appl Health Econ Health Policy · Apr 2019
Financial Impact of Alternative Pricing Benchmarks for Physician-Dispensed Drugs in the California Workers' Compensation System.
Pricing drugs in the California Workers' Compensation System (CAWCS) has become more difficult as there are increasingly fewer drugs listed in the Medi-Cal primary fee schedule, which is used as the source for CAWCS drug prices. This presents a challenge of providing timely and accurate CAWCS reimbursement. The objectives of this study are (1) to explore any trends in physician-dispensed drug prices; (2) to compare the proportion of drugs with and without a price and to determine the financial implications of repricing CAWCS physician-dispensed drugs with five alternative pricing benchmarks; and (3) to offer recommendations for the pricing benchmark to maximize pricing coverage and to remain budget neutral. ⋯ The CAWCS current Medi-Cal pricing for physician-dispensed drugs is better than all alternatives in terms of price availability, transparency, and budget neutrality, but pricing availability may decrease over time as Medi-Cal moves to managed care. National average drug acquisition cost is the next best alternative, but it requires combinations of pricing benchmarks to maximize its price availability.
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Appl Health Econ Health Policy · Oct 2018
Cost-Effectiveness Analysis of Early Treatment of Chronic HCV with Sofosbuvir/Velpatasvir in Italy.
Chronic Hepatitis C virus (cHCV) is a major health issue worldwide. New effective direct-acting anti-viral (DAA) drugs such as the combination sofosbuvir/velpatasvir, represent an important turning point, given the high sustained virologic response (SVR) rates associated with their use. ⋯ Extending the treatment of HCV to patients at an early stage of HCV infection is estimated to be cost effective from the perspective of the Italian Healthcare System.
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Appl Health Econ Health Policy · Oct 2018
The Economic Burden of Abuse of Prescription Opioids: A Systematic Literature Review from 2012 to 2017.
Abuse of prescription opioids [opioid use disorder (OUD), poisoning, and fatal and non-fatal overdose] is a public health and economic challenge that is associated with considerable morbidity and mortality in the USA and globally. ⋯ This systematic literature review shows that abuse of prescription opioids is characterized by substantial direct healthcare costs, medical utilization, and related societal costs. Future research should further investigate the indirect costs of opioid abuse.