Pharmacoeconomic studies serve to guide optimal healthcare resource allocation, in a standardized and scientifically grounded manner.
Quality-adjusted life years have become the dominant outcome of interest in pharmacoeconomic evaluations, and many studies employ a cost-per-QALY analysis.
[3] In 1993, Australia became the first nation to use pharmacoeconomic analysis as part of the process for deciding whether new drugs should be subsidized by the Federal Government.
In the past 30 years, major pharmaceutical innovations have improved condition-related outcomes for six serious medical conditions: ischemic heart disease, lung cancer, breast cancer, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, type 2 diabetes mellitus, and rheumatoid arthritis (RA).
[5] Another study found that new drugs have reduced hospital usage by 25% per decade by replacing more expensive forms of care like surgery.