Value in health : the journal of the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research
-
Comparative Study
Health resource utilization and medical care cost of acute care elderly unit patients.
In this study we compared the readmissions, medical care cost, and health resource utilization (HRU) of acute care elderly (ACE) unit patients and usual medical care patients. ⋯ Our results confirm the hypotheses that ACE unit patients have lower medical care cost, shorter LOS, and fewer readmissions. Thus, ACE unit may be a beneficial model for improved inpatient care of elderly.
-
Injury Severity Score (ISS) is the most widely used method of assessing severity of injury in blunt trauma. It has been recognized that, by only allowing the score to consider the worst injury for each body system, ISS underestimates the problems of multiple musculoskeletal injuries. The New ISS (NISS) allows the three most severe injuries to be scored, irrespective of region affected, and may give better prediction of functional recovery in these patients. ⋯ NISS, a simple modification from ISS, better predicts functional outcomes in survivors of musculoskeletal trauma, and offers an improvement in the assessment of effectiveness of trauma care delivery.
-
The objective of this study was to review and analyze the use of health-related quality of life (HRQL) and other patient-reported outcome (PRO) evaluations for the approval of new pharmaceutical products by the European Medicines Agency (EMEA). ⋯ There is further scope for health outcomes researchers and regulatory decision-makers to contribute to the more efficient utilization of PROs and HRQL outcomes. Health researchers need to better justify the inclusion of these outcomes in clinical trials and highlight the added value of PRO data; while the regulators should develop harmonized procedures and capacities to adequately appraise the submitted information.
-
To describe recent federal sponsorship of cost-effectiveness and related health economics research to provide insight into the functioning of existing research support systems and assess the roles of federal health agencies. ⋯ Federal support of health economics research has paralleled growth in the field. Federal funders support projects consistent with their mission and focus on high-burden disease areas. However, overlapping funding areas, ambiguity concerning agency interests within overlapping content areas, and gaps in some disease and intervention areas suggest that the coordination of health economics research funding could be improved.
-
Multicenter Study Comparative Study Clinical Trial
Cost-effectiveness of recombinant human erythropoietin for reducing red blood cells transfusions in critically ill patients.
To examine the cost-effectiveness of using recombinant human erythropoietin (rHuEPO) to reduce red blood cells (RBC) transfusions in intensive care unit (ICU) patients. ⋯ rHuEPO appears to be cost-effective for reducing RBC transfusions in heterogeneous ICU populations, assuming RBC transfusions increase the risk of nosocomial bacterial infections.