What Can We Expect from Value-Based Funding of Medicines? A Retrospective Study.

Objective: Deciding on public funding for pharmaceuticals on the basis of value for money is now widespread. We suggest that evidence-based assessment of value has restricted the availability of medicines in Australia in a way that reflects the relative bargaining power of government and the pharmaceutical industry. We propose a simple informal game-theoretic model of bargaining between the funding agency and industry and test its predictions using a logistic multiple regression model of past funding decisions made by the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee in Australia.

Using effectiveness and cost-effectiveness to make drug coverage decisions: a comparison of Britain, Australia, and Canada.

Context: National public insurance for drugs is often based on evidence of comparative effectiveness and cost-effectiveness. This study describes how that evidence has been used across 3 jurisdictions (Australia, Canada, and Britain) that have been at the forefront of evidence-based coverage internationally.

Objectives: To describe how clinical and cost-effectiveness evidence is used in coverage decisions both within and across jurisdictions and to identify common issues in the process of evidence-based coverage.

An economic evaluation of increased uptake in Q fever vaccination among meat and agricultural industry workers following implementation of the National Q Fever Management Program.

Introduction: Q fever is a serious but vaccine-preventable infectious disease that predominantly affects those working in the meat and agricultural industries. In October 2000, the Commonwealth Government introduced the National Q Fever Management Program. This economic evaluation assesses the cost-effectiveness and cost-utility of improved vaccine uptake among meat and agricultural industry workers.