Data Collection and Conduction of Pharmacoeconomic Studies in Greece
Abstract
Cost-effectiveness and quality of life are becoming key issues in health policy internationally; however, economic evaluation studies are still not present in health policy decision-making in Greece. Lack of recognition of the social and economic consequences of a disease as well as a lack of funding and non-availability of data are the main reasons for the few health economic analyses conducted. In this article we present data from two studies estimating the annual cost of a schizophrenic patient in Greece and the cost-effectiveness of various antipsychotic agents. The results showed that cost of treatment increases with disease severity, hospitalisation is the main cost component and antipsychotic effectiveness rather than drug costs is the main driver. Economic evaluation based on credible local epidemiological and cost data is considered a necessity. The establishment of a health technology assessment body should be promoted and be part of Greek healthcare decision-making.Schizophrenia, economic evaluation, health technology assessment, Greece
Costs and benefits of pharmaceutical care are of major concern in all healthcare systems, since pharmaceutical expenses absorb a high share of healthcare expenditure in most developed countries. According to Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) data, the average pharmaceutical spending in the EU as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP) lies at 8.9%, ranging from 6.4% in Poland to 11% in France (OECD data 2007).1 Meanwhile, increasing spending has raised the expectations of patients and healthcare professionals and trust in pharmaceutical care outcomes. Health status, quality of life and life expectancy improvements are becoming the main issues responsible for contradictions and managerial problems among parties involved in pharmaceutical policy decision-making. In an environment of economic restriction and limited healthcare resources, rational allocation focused on evidence-based clinical and economic practices seems to be an efficient and effective health policy tool.2,3 Economic evaluation in pharmaceutical care decision-making has evolved significantly over the last few decades, since it combines clinical outcomes assessment with financial implication measurement. Moreover, the issue of assessing cost of illness becomes more important since it provides the possibility of assessing the potential clinical outcomes for treating a specific disease or a population group.
In Greece several efforts have taken place since the mid-1990s regarding the harmonisation of the national accounts system and the research methodology of the national statistical data according to the recommendations of Eurostat. The adaptation of the international disease classification system and coding, as well as the classification of healthcare data utilisation according to OECD recommendations, should also be highlighted. However, although these projects have been realised, the availability of national epidemiological and healthcare utilisation data remains very limited in Greece. This lack of data constitutes the main barrier when conducting local economic evaluation studies. This situation has obviously resulted in the absence of economic evaluation in pharmaceutical and health technology decision-making in Greece. The purpose of this article is to highlight the need for health technology assessment (HTA) in Greece and also to present some of the major problems Greek researchers face through a case study of pharmacoeconomic analysis for schizophrenia.
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